THE 


GRI 


EN  OS 


«p  Cnos  3U 


THE    GRIZZLY,     OUR     GREATEST     WILD 

ANIMAL.     Illustrated. 
YOUR  NATIONAL  PARKS.    Illustrated. 
THE  STORY  OF  SCOTCH.    Illustrated. 
THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAIN   WONDERLAND. 

Illustrated. 
THE  STORY  OF  A  THOUSAND-YEAR  PINE. 

Illustrated. 

IN  BEAVER  WORLD.    Illustrated. 
THE  SPELL  OF  THE  ROCKIES.    Illustrated. 
WILD  LIFE  ON  THE  ROCKIES.    Illustrated. 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 
BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 


OUR  GREATEST  WILD  ANIMAL 


A  WILD  GRIZZLY 

by  Flashlight 


OUR  GREATEST  WILD  ANIMAL 


.  QfftiCC* 


an6  (Jteu? 

on  (TUifffin  Corny  an)? 
(Ribersioe  (press 
1919 


COPYRIGHT,  1919,  BY  ENOS  A.  MILLS 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


£0 

Cmcraon  QttcQTUf  fin 


2051387 


IT  would  make  exciting  reading  if  a  forty-year- 
old  grizzly  bear  were  to  write  his  autobiogra- 
phy. Beginning  with  the  stories  from  his  mother 
of  the  long  and  exciting  journey  of  his  ancestors 
from  far-off  Asia  and  of  her  own  struggle  in  bring- 
ing up  her  family,  and  then  telling  of  his  own  ad- 
venturous life  and  his  meetings  with  men  and  with 
other  animals,  he  could  give  us  a  book  of  highly 
dramatic  quality.  Just  what  a  wise  old  grizzly 
would  say  while  philosophizing  concerning  the 
white  race  would  certainly  be  of  human  interest 
and  rich  in  material  for  literature. 

A  vigorous,  courageous  adventurer  himself,  and 
a  keen  and  constant  observer,  the  grizzly  would 
have  clear-cut  views  concerning  the  explorers, 
early  settlers,  and  hunters.  The  arrival  of  the  early 
white  people  aroused  his  extraordinary  inherent 
curiosity.  He  watched  them  with  wondering  eyes. 
He  was  even  inclined  to  walk  right  into  camp  to 
make  their  acquaintance.  He  had  no  evil  inten- 
vii 


(preface 


tions,  but  he  was  greeted  with  yells  and  bullets. 
Relentlessly  down  through  the  years  he  was  pur- 
sued. Dogs,  guns,  poison,  and  traps  have  swept  a 
majority  of  the  grizzlies  away.  Their  retreat  was 
masterly  and  heroic,  but  the  odds  were  over- 
whelming. 

In  the  midst  of  this  terrible  hunt  the  Yellow- 
stone wild-life  reservation  was  established.  In- 
stantly the  grizzly  understood,  years  before  other 
big  animals  did,  and  in  its  protection  at  once  came 
forth  from  hiding,  eager  to  be  friendly  with  man. 
I  should  like  to  know  his  wonderings  concerning 
this  place  of  refuge  —  why  its  creation,  why  its 
mysterious,  invisible  boundary-lines,  and  why,  out- 
side of  it,  the  fierce,  never-ending  pursuit  for  him 
has  still  gone  on,  until  his  noble  species  is  verging 
on  extinction. 

What,  too,  are  his  feelings  over  the  increased 
friendly  interest  in  his  species  all  over  the  nation? 
How  excitedly  must  he  catch  the  echoes  of  discus- 
sions which  are  telling  that  he  has  been  misunder- 
stood, that  he  is  not  a  bad  fellow!  And  surely,  if 
writing,  he  will  pause  abruptly  when  he  hears  that 
the  public,  and  even  the  hunter,  is  making  efforts 
to  have  the  hunt  for  him  checked  —  learns  that 
viii 


(preface 


there  may  early  be  a  close  season  on  the  grizzly 
bear. 

During  the  past  thirty  years  I  have  had  numer- 
ous experiences  with  the  grizzly  bear  in  various 
sections  of  his  territory.  In  it  I  have  camped  alone 
and  unarmed.  I  have  trailed  the  grizzly  without  a 
gun.  I  have  repeatedly  been  outwitted  by  him,  but 
never  has  he  attacked  me.  I  have  not  found  him 
ferocious,  and  I  consider  him  in  most  respects  the 
greatest  animal  on  the  North  American  continent, 
if  not  in  the  world.  He  excels  in  mental  develop- 
ment and  physical  prowess,  and  he  possesses  the 
rare  quality  of  loyalty.  He  is  full  of  curiosity  and  is 
a  born  adventurer.  The  species  impresses  one  with 
its  superiority,  and  the  individuality  of  each 
grizzly  ever  stands  out. 

The  material  in  this  book  is  drawn  chiefly  from 
my  own  experiences  with  grizzly  bears  in  the  wil- 
derness. Ten  of  the  chapters  have  not  before  ap- 
peared in  print.  The  author  acknowledges  with 
thanks  the  courtesy  of  the  editors  of  the  Saturday 
Evening  Post  in  granting  permission  to  reprint 
from  that  magazine  parts  of  three  chapters  con- 
tained in  this  book;  and  to  the  editors  of  The  Amer- 
ix 


(preface 


ican  Boy  for  two  chapters  reprinted  herein.  Dr.  C. 
Hart  Merriam  has  kindly  consented  to  the  repro- 
duction of  a  part  of  his  comment  on  the  grizzly 
and  big  brown  bears,  together  with  his  up-to- 
date  classification  of  them.  This  valuable  material 
represents  the  work  of  years. 

E.  A.  M. 


Conltnfc 

Grizzly  Sagacity 1 

Cubs  and  Mother 21 

His  Exclusive  Territory 41 

Making  a  Bear  Living 61 

The  Long  Winter  Sleep 79 

Being  Good  to  Bears 99 

Trailing  without  a  Gun 117 

When  the  Grizzly  Plays 137 

Matching  Wits  with  the  Grizzly    .        .        .        .153 

WTiere  Curiosity  Wins 173 

On  the  Defensive 189 

Man's  Loyal  Companion 209 

New  Environments 227 

Description,  History,  and  Classification  .  .  245 
Will  the  Grizzly  be  Exterminated?  .  .  .271 
Index  ....  .  285 


A  Wild  Grizzly Frontispiece 

From  a  Flashlight  Photograph  by  F.  C,  Wokott 

The  Challenge  (showing  a  young  Alaskan  Grizzly 
of  the  Big  Browh  Bear  Type)       .  .         .24 

Photograph  by  Pedersen,  Seward,  Alaska 

Mexican  Grizzlies:  Group  in  the  Field  Columbian 
Museum,  Chicago       .         .         .         .         .         .64 

Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  the  Museum 

Jenny  and  Johnny,  in  the  First  Year  of  their  Lives  102 

Photograph  by  the  Author 

Jenny  and  Johnny,  at  the  Age  of  Fourteen     .         .114 
Photograph  taken  in  the  Denver  Zoo 

Catching  Black  Bear  Cubs 140 

Johnny 176 

Photograph  by  J.  D.  Figgins 

A  Black  Bear  in  the  Sequoia  National  Park     .         .212 
Photograph  by  Lindley  Eddy,  Giant  Forest,  Col. 

A  Black  Bear  and  Cubs 232 

Photograph  by  C.  E.  Huish,  Eureka,  Utah 

Grizzly  Bear  Group  in  Colorado  Museum  of  Na- 
tural History,  Denver          .         .         .         .         .  250 

Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  the  Museum 


ONE  autumn  day,  while  I  was  watching  a 
little  cony  stacking  hay  for  the  winter,  a 
clinking  and  rattling  of  slide  rock  caught  my  atten- 
tion. On  the  mountain-side  opposite  me,  perhaps  a 
hundred  yards  away,  a  grizzly  bear  was  digging  in 
an  enormous  rock-slide.  He  worked  energetically. 
Several  slabs  of  rock  were  hurled  out  of  the  hole 
and  tossed  down  the  mountain-side.  Stones  were 
thrown  right  and  left.  I  could  not  make  out  what 
he  was  after,  but  it  is  likely  that  he  was  digging  for 
a  woodchuck. 

After  a  short  time  only  his  shoulders  showed 
above  the  scattered  slide  rock  as  he  stood  erect. 
Then  he  began  piling  the  stones  upon  the  edge  of 
his  deepening  hole.  The  slope  was  steep  and  the 
stones  had  to  be  placed  with  care  to  prevent  their 
tumbling  back.  After  lifting  into  place  one  huge 
slab,  he  stood  and  looked  at  it  for  an  instant  and 
then  slightly  changed  its  position.  On  top  of  this 
stone  he  piled  another  large  one,  eyed  it  closely, 
shook  it  to  see  if  it  was  solid,  and  finally  shifted  it 
3 


a  trifle.  Had  he  not  been  wearing  a  grizzly-bear 
coat,  it  would  have  been  easy  to  believe  that  a 
powerful,  careful,  thoughtful  man  was  eagerly 
digging  that  hole. 

The  keenness  of  the  grizzly's  sagacity  and  the 
workings  of  his  rare  wit  were  impressed  upon  me  in 
a  photographing  experience  that  I  had.  Two  other 
young  fellows  and  I  thought  we  could  get  a  near-by 
photograph  of  an  old  grizzly  that  ranged  near  us. 
We  entered  his  territory  at  three  widely  separated 
places  and  mpved  in  concert  toward  the  centre. 
We  hoped  that  either  one  of  us  would  be  able  to 
slip  up  close  to  the  grizzly  or  else  he,  in  running 
away,  would  come  close  to  one  of  us. 

Very  soon  one  of  the  boys  aroused  the  bear  and 
started  him  running.  The  grizzly  had  evidently 
scented  him  half  a  mile  away.  Running  in  my  di- 
rection, when  within  about  a  mile  he  discovered 
my  presence,  turned,  and  retreated  six  or  seven 
miles  into  a  remote  corner  of  his  territory.  In  this 
retreat  he  did  not  go  within  two  miles  of  either  of 
the  other  fellows. 

Realizing  that  the  bear  had  eluded  us,  we  slightly 
separated  and  moved  toward  him.  He  did  not  wait 
to  be  cornered  in  a  canon.  Late  that  day  we  fol- 
4 


lowed  his  devious  tracks  and  discovered  his  move- 
ments. We  learned  to  our  chagrin  that  he  had 
doubled  back  in  the  canon  and  come  part  way  to- 
ward us.  Then,  climbing  an  out-thrusting  ridge 
where  he  could  see  in  all  directions,  he  evidently 
had  watched  us  when  we  passed  up  a  grassy  valley 
beneath  him.  After  we  were  in  the  timber  beyond 
he  had  descended  to  the  valley.  Then  the  most 
amazing  turn  came.  Instead  of  running  away  in  the 
opposite  direction  he  had  followed  along  close  be- 
hind us!  By  the  time  we  discovered  all  this  the 
day  was  gone,  and  so  was  the  bear.  He  had  had 
an  adventure. 

Did  the  grizzly  know  we  were  unarmed?  He 
might  have  used  the  same  tactics  in  any  case.  Any- 
way, he  easily  kept  out  of  our  way,  followed  our 
moves,  and  had,  perhaps,  enjoyed  our  unsuccessful 
efforts. 

I  would  give  the  grizzly  first  place  in  the  animal 
world  for  brain-power.  He  is  superior  in  mentality 
to  the  horse,  the  dog,  and  even  the  gray  wolf.  In- 
stinct the  grizzly  has,  but  he  also  has  the  ability  to 
reason.  His  ever-alert,  amazingly  developed  senses 
are  constantly  supplying  his  brain  with  informa- 
tion —  information  which  he  uses,  and  uses  intelli- 
5 


gently.  His  powers  of  scent  are  exquisite.  His  ears 
hear  faint  sounds;  they  are  continually  on  scout 
and  sentinel  duty.  Wireless  messages  from  long 
distances  which  his  senses  pick  up  are  accurately 
received  and  their  place  of  origin  correctly  deter- 
mined. 

The  grizzly  appears  to  guide  his  daily  life  with 
plan  and  forethought.  He  has  the  genius  for  taking 
pains.  He  is  constantly  alert  and  meets  emergen- 
cies with  brains.  The  following  actions  have  im- 
pressed me  with  his  keen  mental  processes. 

A  grizzly  cub  in  Yellowstone  Park  found  a  big 
ham  skin  —  a  prized  delicacy.  Just  as  the  little 
fellow  was  lifting  it  to  his  mouth  a  big  bear  ap- 
peared. He  instantly  dropped  the  ham  skin,  sat 
down  on  it,  and  pretended  to  be  greatly  interested 
in  watching  something  in  the  edge  of  the  woods. 

Another  young  grizzly  in  the  Yellowstone  one 
day  found  a  tin  can  that  was  open  at  one  end  and 
partly  filled  with  fish.  He  raised  it  in  his  fore  paws 
and  peeped  in,  then  deliberately  turned  the  can 
upside  down  and  shook  it.  Nothing  came  out.  He 
shook  again;  no  result.  Then  he  proceeded  just 
about  as  you  or  I  might  have  done.  He  placed  the 
can  on  the  ground,  open  end  down,  and  hammered 
6 


the  bottom  of  the  can  with  a  stone  until  the  fish 
dropped  out. 

In  a  zoo  one  day,  a  piece  of  hard- tack  that  a 
grizzly  bear  wanted  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  black 
bear.  The  black  bear  dipped  the  hard-tack  in  the 
water  and  then  started  to  take  a  bite.  Evidently  it 
was  too  hard.  He  put  it  in  the  water  again,  and 
while  it  soaked  gave  his  attention  to  something  else. 
While  the  black  bear  was  not  looking,  the  grizzly, 
standing  on  the  farther  edge  of  the  pool,  stirred  the 
water  with  a  fore  paw  and  started  the  hard-tack  to- 
ward him  on  the  waves.  The  instant  the  first  wave 
touched  the  black  bear  he  looked  around,  grabbed 
the  precious  hard-tack,  which  was  rapidly  floating 
away,  and,  pushing  it  to  the  bottom  of  the  pool,  put 
one  hind  foot  upon  it.  How  very  like  the  mental 
processes  of  human  beings! 

One  day  in  North  Park,  Colorado,  I  came  upon 
the  carcass  of  a  cow  that  wolves  had  recently 
killed.  It  lay  in  a  grassy  opening  surrounded  by 
willow  clumps.  Knowing  that  bears  were  about,  I 
climbed  into  the  substantial  top  of  a  stocky  pine 
near  by,  hoping  that  one  would  come  to  feast.  A 
grizzly  came  at  sundown. 

When  about  one  hundred  feet  from  the  carcass 
7 


the  bear  stopped.  Standing  erect,  with  fore  paws 
hanging  loosely,  he  looked,  listened,  and  carefully 
examined  the  air  with  his  nose.  The  grizzly  is  eter- 
nally vigilant;  he  appears  to  feel  that  he  is  ever 
pursued.  As  the  air  was  not  stirring,  I  felt  that  he 
could  not  scent  me  in  my  tree-top  perch.  It  may  be, 
however,  that  he  faintly  caught  my  lingering  scent 
where  I  had  walked  round  the  opening.  After  scout- 
ing for  a  minute  or  two  with  all  his  keen  senses,  he 
dropped  on  all  fours  and  slowly,  without  a  sound, 
advanced  toward  the  willow  clumps. 

In  places  of  possible  ambush  the  grizzly  is  ex- 
tremely cautious.  He  is  not  a  coward,  but  he  does 
not  propose  to  blunder  into  trouble.  When  within 
thirty  feet  of  the  waiting  feast  this  bear  redoubled 
his  precautions  against  surprise  and  ambush  by 
walking  round  the  carcass.  Then,  slipping  stealth- 
ily to  the  edge  of  a  thick  willow  clump,  he  flung 
himself  into  it  with  a  fearful  roar,  instantly  leaping 
out  on  the  other  side  ready  to  charge  anything  that 
might  start  from  the  willows;  but  nothing  started. 
Standing  erect,  tense  in  every  muscle,  he  waited  a 
moment  in  expectant  attitude.  Then  he  charged, 
roaring,  through  another  willow  clump,  and  an- 
other, until  he  had  investigated  every  possible  place 
8 


of  concealment  near  the  carcass.  Not  finding  an 
enemy,  he  at  last  went  to  the  carcass. 

When  he  had  feasted  for  a  few  minutes  he  sud- 
denly rose,  snarled,  and  sniffed  along  my  trail  for  a 
few  yards.  He  uttered  a  few  growling  threats.  That 
a  grizzly  cannot  climb  a  tree  is  a  fact  in  natural 
history  which  gave  me  immense  satisfaction.  But 
the  bear  returned  to  the  carcass  and  finished  his 
feast.  Finally,  having  raked  grass  and  trash  over 
the  remains,  he  doubled  back  on  his  trail  and  faded 
into  the  twilight. 

Grizzlies  often  show  courage  and  strategy  by 
hiding  and  lying  in  ambush  for  a  pursuing  hunter. 
On  one  occasion  I  had  been  following  a  grizzly  for 
a  number  of  days,  trying  to  get  his  photograph  at 
short  range.  He  knew  I  was  in  pursuit.  Finally,  he 
doubled  back  on  his  trail  a  short  distance  and 
crouched  behind  a  log.  His  tracks  as  I  followed 
them  passed  along  the  other  side  of  this  log,  and 
continued  plainly  ahead  of  me  across  the  top  of  a 
snow-covered  moraine.  But  as  I  approached  the 
log,  the  wind  stirred  the  bear's  fur  and  gave  me 
warning. 

A  grizzly  appears  to  understand  that  his  tracks 
reveal  his  movements.  I  was  once  following  one 
9 


that  had  been  wounded  by  a  hunter  to  see  where  he 
went  and  what  he  did.  He  circled  from  his  trail  and 
came  back  to  it  over  logs  and  rocks,  which  left  no 
markings,  and  hid  in  a  clump  of  fir  trees.  On  seeing 
this  possible  place  of  ambush  by  the  trail,  I  turned 
aside  and  climbed  a  pine  to  reconnoitre.  When  the 
bear  realized  that  I  had  discovered  him,  he  made 
off  in  anger. 

Round  the  foot  of  Long's  Peak  I  followed  a  bear 
through  a  shallow  snow,  hoping  to  overtake  and 
photograph  him.  Most  of  the  snow  had  melted  off 
the  logs  and  bowlders.  After  trailing  him  four  or 
five  miles  I  came  to  a  bowlder  where  he  had  climbed 
up  and  looked  around.  Possibly  he  wished  to  see 
how  close  I  was  to  him;  possibly  he  was  deciding 
just  where  he  would  carry  out  a  plan  for  outwitting 
me.  At  any  rate,  he  jumped  from  the  bowlder, 
walked  round  it,  traveled  a  short  distance  slowly, 
then  set  off  on  a  run,  going  east.  After  I  had  fol- 
lowed his  trail  for  more  than  a  mile,  his  tracks 
ceased  in  a  rocky,  snowless  area  where  his  foot- 
prints did  not  show. 

I  thought  I  should  find  his  tracks  in  the  snow  on 
the  farther  edge  of  the  rocky  space ;  but  they  were 
not  there.  Then,  in  the  snow,  I  went  entirely  round 
10 


the  edge  of  the  rocky  space  without  seeing  a  track. 
Thinking  that  possibly  the  grizzly  was  hiding  in 
this  small  rocky  area,  I  at  once  cautiously  circled 
every  place  behind  which  he  might  be  concealed, 
but  without  finding  him. 

Out  in  the  snow  I  made  a  larger  circle  and  at  last 
discovered  his  tracks.  Entering  the  rocky  space,  he 
had  turned  abruptly  to  the  left  and  traveled  about 
one  hundred  feet.  Then,  from  the  rocks,  he  had 
made  a  long  leap  into  a  clump  of  bushes,  from  this 
leaped  into  another  clump  of  bushes,  and  finally 
into  the  snow.  He  thus  left  the  rocky  place  with- 
out leaving  any  telltale  tracks  within  thirty  feet 
of  it. 

He  started  westward  —  back  toward  the  bowl- 
der —  alongside  his  first  trail,  and  traveled  for 
about  a  mile  parallel  to  it  and  less  than  one  hun- 
dred feet  from  it.  Near  the  bowlder  he  waited  in 
concealment  at  a  point  where  he  could  watch  his 
former  trail,  and  evidently  stayed  there  until  I 
passed. 

Then  he  traveled  on  a  short  distance  to  another 

small  rocky  area.  Doubling  in  his  tracks,  he  came 

back  for  one  hundred  feet  or  so  in  the  trail  he  had 

thus  made.  Working  toward  his  first  trail,  he  hid 

II 


his  tracks  by  leaping  among  fallen  timbers  and 
bushes,  and  at  last  made  a  leap  into  his  first  trail 
by  the  bowlder,  where  he  made  many  tracks  in  the 
snow.  Along  this  old  trail  he  traveled  east  again 
a  short  distance,  stepping  precisely  in  his  former 
footprints. 

Out  of  this  trail  he  leaped  upon  the  top  of  a  low, 
snowless  bowlder  on  the  right,  and  from  this  upon 
another  bowlder.  He  walked  along  a  bare  fallen 
log.  Here  I  must  have  searched  more  than  two 
hours  before  detecting  two  or  three  broken  sticks, 
which  gave  me  a  clew  to  the  direction  he  had  taken. 
From  the  log  he  walked  upon  a  cross  log  and  then 
plunged  through  fifty  or  sixty  feet  of  thicket  which 
showed  no  trail.  From  where  he  had  emerged  on 
the  farther  side  of  the  thicket  there  was  little  by 
which  to  trace  him  for  the  next  quarter  of  a  mile. 
He  zigzagged  over  fallen  logs  and  leaped  upon 
snowless  bowlders  until  he  came  to  a  tree  leaning 
against  a  cliff.  Up  this  tree  he  walked  to  a  ledge, 
where,  fortunately,  there  was  a  little  snow  which 
recorded  his  track.  He  followed  the  ledge  to  the  top 
of  the  cliff  and,  leaving  this,  ran  for  four  or  five 
miles.  It  took  me  twenty-four  hours  to  unravel  the 
various  tangles,  and  I  finally  gave  up  the  idea  of 

12 


photographing  him.  Long  before  I  arrived  at  the 
top  of  the  cliff  I  had  concluded  that  I  was  following 
a  reasoning  animal,  one  who  might  be  more  alert 
than  I  myself. 

Though  a  grizzly  has  both  speed  and  strength, 
he  generally  uses  his  wits  and  thus  obtains  the  de- 
sired end  in  the  easiest  way.  Three  or  four  persons 
have  told  me  that  they  have  seen  instances  of  a 
grizzly  bear's  taking  the  part  of  an  acrobat.  The 
bear,  by  this  means,  endeavored  to  attract  the  at- 
tention of  cattle,  with  the  idea  of  drawing  them 
close  and  seizing  one  of  them.  Among  his  pranks  he 
turned  an  occasional  somersault,  rolled  over  and 
over,  and  chased  his  tail. 

A  Utah  grizzly  killed  about  one  thousand  head 
of  cattle  in  fifteen  years.  During  this  time  there 
was  a  large  reward  offered  for  his  death.  Numerous 
attempts  were  made  to  capture  him.  Old  hunters 
and  trappers  tried  with  rifles  and  traps;  expedi- 
tions of  men,  horses,  and  dogs  pursued  him.  All 
these  years  he  lived  on  as  usual  in  his  home  terri- 
tory, made  a  kill  every  few  days,  and  was  seen 
only  two  or  three  times. 

Another  grizzly,  eluding  pursuers,  slaughtered 
live  stock  freely,  and  managed  to  survive  thirty- 
13 


five  years  of  concerted  efforts  to  kill  or  capture 
him.  There  was  a  rich  reward  on  his  head. 

There  are  similar  accounts  of  Clubfoot,  Three- 
Toes,  and  other  outlaw  grizzlies.  All  of  these  bears 
slaughtered  cattle  by  the  hundreds  in  their  home 
territory,  lived  with  heavy  prices  on  their  heads, 
and  for  years  outwitted  skillful  hunters  and  trap- 
pers, escaping  the  well-organized  posse  again  and 
again.  Knowing  many  of  the  hunters  and  their 
skillful  methods,  and  the  repeated  triumphs  of 
other  grizzlies  over  combinations  and  new  con- 
trivances, I  am  convinced  that  the  grizzly  bear  is 
an  animal  who  reasons. 

When  in  a  trap  or  cornered,  a  wounded  grizzly 
sometimes  feigns  death.  Apparently  he  considers 
his  situation  desperate  and  sees  in  this  method  the 
possibility  of  throwing  his  assailant  off  guard.  Con- 
sidering that  need  of  feigning  death  is  recent,  — 
since  the  arrival  of  the  white  man  with  high- 
power  rifle  and  insidious  steel  trap,  —  this  strategy 
appears  like  a  clear  case  of  reasoning. 

The  grizzly  is  difficult  to  anticipate.  His  strategy 

usually  defeats  the  hunter.  One  wounded  bear  may 

at  once  charge  the  hunter;  the  next  may  run  from 

him ;  and  the  third  may  hold  the  ground  defiantly. 

14 


The  grizzly  meets  what  to  us  seem  identical  situa- 
tions in  unlike  manner,  and  makes  sudden  changes 
hi  his  habits  without  our  seeing  the  cause  for  such 
changes.  Quickly  he  makes  the  acquaintance  of  the 
new  and  promptly  adjusts  himself  to  it.  If  it  is 
dangerous  he  avoids  it,  if  advantageous  he  uses  it. 

Often  in  traveling  to  a  distant  place  the  grizzly 
goes  on  the  run,  but  just  as  often  he  goes  at  slower 
speed.  If  plodding  slowly,  he  conveys  the  impres- 
sion of  deliberating.  He  often  appears  to  be  think- 
ing, and  probably  is.  Though  shuffling  along,  he  is 
bound  for  a  definite  place  with  the  intention  of  do- 
ing a  definite  thing.  Suddenly  he  changes  his  mind 
and  goes  off  in  the  opposite  direction. 

I  have  seen  a  bear  hustling  along,  with  his  mind 
apparently  made  up;  he  is  in  a  hurry  to  carry  out 
some  plan,  to  reach  a  given  place,  or  see  some  par- 
ticular thing.  All  at  once  he  notices  where  he  is  and 
stops.  He  remembers  that  he  intended  to  look  at 
such  and  such  a  thing  on  the  way  but  has  neglected 
to  do  so.  He  hesitates  a  few  moments,  then  goes 
back. 

On  rare  occasions  the  grizzly  walks  along,  per- 
haps in  bountiful  summer,  thinking  of  nothing  in 
particular,  with  head  swinging  slowly  from  side  to 
15 


side.  Something  arouses  him;  he  may  promptly  re- 
treat or  he  may  investigate.  You  never  know  what 
a  grizzly  will  do  next  or  how  he  will  do  it,  but 
everything  he  does  is  with  fresh  interest  and  de- 
lightful individuality. 

An  old  grizzly  pursued  by  wolves  once  gave  me  a 
fearful  exhibition  of  nature.  He  came  running  across 
an  opening  in  the  southern  end  of  North  Park  with 
several  wolves  close  in  pursuit.  He  acted  as  though 
away  from  home  —  hard  pressed,  bewildered,  and 
in  a  strange  territory.  The  wolves  were  crowding 
him  closely  as  he  reached  the  edge  of  the  woods. 
With  a  sudden  move  he  wheeled  and  struck  at  the 
one  in  the  lead.  Instantly  the  others  were  around 
him,  snarling  and  snapping.  The  grizzly  wheeled 
and  struck  quickly  to  right  and  left,  striking  out- 
ward and  downward  somewhat  after  the  fashion  of 
a  cat  striking  at  a  near-by  object.  Then  he  turned 
and  ran  on. 

A  few  miles  farther  on  he  again  crossed  an  open- 
ing. Fresh  wolves  were  now  in  pursuit.  I  saw  sev- 
eral of  the  pack  lying  down,  panting  and  resting. 
The  grizzly  had  no  rest,  he  was  hard  pressed.  At 
one  place,  closely  crowded,  he  backed  up  in  the 
corner  of  a  cliff  and  here  put  up  such  a  fight  that  he 
16 


drove  the  wolves  off  for  the  time  being.  He  killed 
one  and  badly  injured  two  of  them.  Towards  eve- 
ning he  took  refuge  in  a  denlike  place  for  which  he 
evidently  had  been  heading.  The  following  morn- 
ing a  number  of  the  wolves  were  gone,  but  the 
others  were  waiting  for  the  grizzly  in  front  of  the 
den. 

A  grizzly  with  three  feet  managed  to  maintain 
himself  in  a  territory  near  my  home,  and  I  twice 
heard  of  his  outwitting  hunters  and  their  hounds. 
The  territory  was  occasionally  invaded  by  trap- 
pers but  he  avoided  their  snares.  Hunters  with 
dogs  finally  drove  him  off  his  domain.  Where  he 
went,  what  struggles  he  had,  what  masterly  re- 
treats he  made,  what  troubles  he  had  in  making  a 
living,  and  what  his  final  tragic  end,  I  do  not  know. 
That  he  survived  so  long  with  one  foot  gone  in- 
dicates that  he  was  a  bear  of  powers,  a  bear  with 
a  career,  whose  biography  or  autobiography  would 
be  full  of  action  and  adventure. 

It  cannot  be  stated  too  strongly  that  the  grizzly 
is  not  a  coward.  Every  drop  of  blood  in  his  body  is 
courageous.  He  has  no  fear.  He  is  intelligent  enough 
to  know  that  man  is  a  dangerous  enemy  —  that  it 
is  almost  suicidal  for  a  bear  to  expose  himself  to 


man.  There  is  no  animal  of  the  wilds  whom  he 
avoids.  Man,  with  field-glasses,  dogs,  and  a  rifle 
that  will  kill  at  the  distance  of  a  mile,  are  odds  too 
great  for  him.  He  wisely  endeavors  to  avoid  man, 
but  if  he  cannot  do  so,  when  the  fight  comes  he 
exhibits  one  hundred  per  cent  of  courage  and 
efficiency. 

Only  a  few  generations  ago  the  grizzly  was  in- 
stinctively courageous,  never  avoiding  a  foe ;  with 
courage  he  met  every  issue,  almost  invariably  com- 
ing out  triumphant.  But  when  man  is  the  issue,  the 
grizzly,  seeing  more  than  one  move  ahead,  has  the 
wisdom  and  the  greater  courage  to  suppress  the  old 
instinctive  trait,  for  its  use  would  be  ineffective. 

For  years  I  have  watched,  studied,  and  enjoyed 
the  grizzly,  have  seen  his  actions  under  a  variety  of 
influences  —  fighting  and  playing,  sleeping  and 
food-getting.  I  have  watched  him  when  he  was 
under  normal  influences  and  abnormal  ones;  when 
pursuer  and  when  pursued ;  have  kept  him  within 
the  focus  of  my  field-glasses  for  hours  at  a  time, 
and  have  trailed  for  days  with  a  camera  this  mas- 
ter animal. 

The  grizzly  is  so  dignified  and  so  strangely  hu- 
man-like that  I  have  felt  degraded  every  time  I 
18 


have  seen  him  pursued  with  dogs.  A  few  times  I 
have  outwitted  him;  more  often  he  has  outwitted 
me.  We  have  occasionally  met  unexpectedly ;  some- 
times each  stared  without  alarm,  and  at  other 
times  each  fled  in  an  opposite  direction.  Sometimes 
the  grizzly  is  guided  by  instinct,  but  more  often  his 
actions  are  triumphantly  directed  by  reason. 


CuBe  anb  (Hlof 0er 


Cu60  <mb 


f  •  ^HE  life-story  of  every  bear  is  a  story  of  ad- 
X  venture.  A  hunter  with  whom  I  was  camp- 
ing in  the  No-Summer  Mountains  of  Colorado 
came  in  one  June  evening  with  the  report  that  he 
had  killed  a  mother  grizzly.  He  had  searched  for 
her  cubs,  which  he  thought  must  be  near  by,  but 
had  failed  to  discover  them.  The  hunter  said  he 
had  come  upon  her  unexpectedly  in  a  thicket  and 
she  had  at  once  charged,  probably  thinking  herself 
cornered.  One  well-aimed  shot  hi  the  head  had 
dropped  her. 

The  following  morning  I  went  with  the  hunter  to 
bring  in  the  grizzly.  She  was  a  beautiful  silver-tip  of 
about  four  hundred  pounds.  We  made  another 
thorough  search  for  the  cubs  without  finding  them. 
Just  as  the  hunter  was  about  to  start  skinning  the 
bear  I  caught  sight  of  a  cub  peeping  from  beneath 
large  slide  rocks  not  thirty  feet  away.  Then  an- 
other frightened  cub  face  appeared. 

After  hesitating  for  a  moment  both  cubs  came 
out  and  stood  looking  intently  toward  us  and  their 
23 


dead  mother.  After  a  stare,  as  we  did  not  move, 
they  took  a  few  steps  toward  us.  Hesitating  again, 
they  stopped,  rose  up  and  looked  around,  and  then 
hastily  retreated  to  the  rocks.  Evidently  their 
mother  had  trained  them  to  stay  wherever  she 
left  them  until  she  returned. 

But  they  had  waited  long.  For  a  while  they  stood 
and  whimpered  very  much  like  hungry,  forsaken 
children.  They  could  scent  their  mother,  and  see 
her,  too,  and  were  too  hungry  and  lonesome  to  en- 
dure without  her  longer.  Again  they  started  slowly 
toward  us,  walking  closely  side  by  side.  When  very 
near  they  paused,  rose  on  hind  legs,  and  looked  in- 
tently at  us  and  in  wonder  and  longing  at  their  life- 
less mother.  Then  they  went  to  her.  One  little  cub 
sniffed  in  a  bewildered,  puzzled  way  over  her  cold, 
still  body.  He  gently  stroked  her  fur  with  his  paw 
and  then  sat  down  and  began  to  whimper  and  cry. 

The  other  little  cub  stood  looking  with  awe  into 
his  mother's  moveless  face,  but  at  last  shook  off  his 
fright  and  smelled  her  bloody  head.  Then,  all  for- 
lorn, he  turned  to  look  eagerly  into  the  face  of  the 
hunter,  who  had  been  watching  the  little  cub  all 
this  while  with  big  tears  upon  his  cheeks.  After  a 
moment  he  took  a  step  toward  him,  rose  up,  and 
24 


: 

<;   a 


<Cu8s 


trustingly  put  fore  paws  upon  his  knee,  looking 
seriously,  confidingly  into  his  face.  We  carried 
these  little  orphans  to  camp,  and  the  hunter  raised 
them.  Their  mother  was  the  last  animal  that  he 
ever  shot. 

The  cubs  are  born  in  the  hibernating  cave  in 
January,  February,  or  March,  probably  the  ma- 
jority in  February.  The  number  at  birth  commonly 
is  two,  but  sometimes  there  are  three  and  occa- 
sionally even  four.  Each  is  about  the  size  of  a  chip- 
munk, weighing  from  ten  to  twenty  ounces. 

Generally  the  mother  does  not  come  forth  for 
either  food  or  drink  for  some  weeks  after  the  cubs 
are  born.  She  stays  in  the  den  a  month  longer  than 
bears  without  cubs.  Curled  around  the  little  bears 
in  the  den,  she  nourishes  them  from  her  store  of 
fat.  The  cubs  grow  slowly,  and  on  leaving  the  den 
are  often  only  a  trifle  larger  than  a  cotton-tail  rab- 
bit, weighing  from  ten  to  fifteen  pounds.  The  griz- 
zly appears  to  give  birth  to  cubs  only  every  second 
year.  Though  yearlings  have  been  seen  with  a 
mother  and  cubs,  it  is  likely  that  they  did  not  be- 
long to  her. 

In  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  mother,  the  griz- 
zly is  one  of  the  smallest  of  animals  at  birth,  weigh- 
25 


ing  about  one  fifth  of  one  per  cent  of  her  weight.  A 
baby  kangaroo  at  birth  is  even  smaller  proportion- 
ally, however,  and  is  said  to  weigh  less  than  one 
tenth  of  one  per  cent  of  the  mother's  weight.  A  baby 
blue  whale  is  about  four  per  cent  of  the  weight  of 
the  mother  and  sometimes  weighs  three  tons  and 
has  a  length  of  twenty-five  feet. 

Why  is  the  young  grizzly  so  small?  It  will  readily 
be  seen  that  while  hibernating,  neither  eating  nor 
drinking  for  a  few  months,  the  mother  grizzly  would 
not  be  able  to  nourish  two  or  more  very  lusty 
youngsters.  It  is  probable  that  in  the  process  of 
evolution  Nature  selected  the  small  grizzly  cubs  to 
perpetuate  the  species. 

While  visiting  the  Blackfeet  Indians  in  western 
Montana  one  February,  I  saw  a  young  Indian 
woman  nursing  two  baby  grizzly  bears.  The 
mother  grizzly  had  been  killed  a  day  or  two  before 
and  the  cubs  taken  from  the  den.  They  were  little 
bits  of  warm,  pink  life,  scantily  covered  with  hair. 
Each  weighed  not  more  than  one  pound.  They  were 
blind  and  toothless,  but  had  sharp  tiny  claws. 
They  had  their  eyes  open  in  about  fourteen  days, 
and  early  began  to  cut  their  teeth.  For  several 
days  the  Indian  woman  suckled  the  cubs,  then  she 
26 


Cu80 

fed  them  on  cow's  milk  and  succeeded  in  raising 
them. 

Many  are  the  colors  of  grizzlies.  I  once  saw  a 
mother  with  four  cubs,  each  of  a  different  color. 
She  herself  was  cream-colored,  but  one  of  the  cubs 
was  nearly  black,  another  gray,  the  third  brown, 
and  the  fourth  black  and  white.  A  grizzly  may  be 
a  blond,  or  a  brunette,  or  one  of  half  a  dozen  in- 
between  shades.  Often,  as  he  ages,  he  becomes  a 
"silver-tip."  Probably  dark  gray  is  the  prevail- 
ing color. 

From  the  time  the  mother  and  cubs  emerge  from 
the  winter  den  in  the  spring  until  they  enter  a  den 
to  hibernate  the  next  winter,  they  are  on  the  move 
much  of  the  time.  Only  occasionally  does  the  old 
bear  leave  the  cubs  behind,  and  this  as  a  rule  is  not 
for  long.  She  is  constantly  watchful  for  their  safety 
and  makes  haste  to  place  herself  between  the  cubs 
and  any  possible  danger.  In  retreating  she  usually 
leads  the  way,  the  cubs  following  closely,  but  if 
nearly  cornered  she  is  likely  to  act  as  rear  guard. 

Crossing  the  mountains  one  stormy  spring  day, 

I  paused  in  a  whirl  of  mist  and  wet  snow  to  look 

for  the  trail.  Peering  ahead,  I  beheld  a  grizzly  bear 

emerging  from  the  gloom  only  a  few  yards  away. 

27 


Close  behind  her  were  two  small  cubs.  Mother 
Grizzly,  as  much  surprised  as  I,  instantly  re- 
treated. With  an  impatient  expression  and  a  growl 
of  anger  she  wheeled  quickly  about  and  boxed  the 
cubs  right  and  left  like  a  nervous  mother.  Urged  on 
with  spanks  from  behind,  the  youngsters  turned 
back  in  the  direction  they  had  come  from,  and  all 
vanished  in  the  falling  snow. 

Though  gentle  and  patient,  the  grizzly  mother 
uses  a  limited  amount  of  cuffing  and  spanking  with 
the  cubs,  especially  if  they  are  in  danger.  One  day 
from  far  across  a  canon  I  was  watching  two  cubs 
walking  along  a  wild-life  trail  in  front  of  their 
mother,  when  a  pack  outfit  appeared  on  my  side  of 
the  canon.  The  mother  and  the  cubs  saw  it,  and 
she  at  once  turned  up  a  gulch,  pushing  the  cubs 
before  her.  But  the  youngsters  were  interested  in 
the  pack-animals  and,  standing  still,  forgot  every- 
thing in  their  eager  watching.  The  mother  went 
from  one  to  the  other,  pushing  them  forward.  The 
instant  she  left  one,  the  cub  stopped  and  turned  to 
look  back  in  eager  curiosity  at  the  strange  sight 
across  the  canon.  Without  any  show  of  temper  the 
mother  pushed  one  ahead  a  few  yards  and  then 
returned  to  the  other  and  urged  it  forward. 
28 


<Cu80  anb 

The  mother  protects  her  cubs  at  any  cost.  Many 
a  grizzly  mother  has  died  in  defense  of  her  off- 
spring, and  I  do  not  know  of  an  instance  of  a  moth- 
er's running  away  when  her  cubs  were  exposed  to 
danger. 

At  Grand  Lake,  Colorado,  one  June  day,  I  went 
with  a  trapper  on  his  rounds,  thinking  that  he 
might  have  trapped  a  grizzly.  He  had  a  cub 
trapped  by  a  fore  paw.  As  we  approached  the  spot, 
I  chanced  to  climb  over  a  pile  of  fallen  timber  and 
from  the  top  of  this  I  saw  Mother  Grizzly  lying  in 
wait  a  short  distance  in  front  of  the  cub.  She  had 
dug  out  a  place  behind  a  log  and  was  lying  there 
concealed,  unmistakably  waiting  for  the  trapper. 

One  morning  late  in  May,  while  I  stood  behind 
a  tree  watching  two  young  beaver  at  play  in  the 
pond,  a  small  grizzly  cub,  of  the  same  brown  color 
as  the  beaver,  walked  out  to  the  end  of  a  log  that 
lay  partly  in  the  water.  He  was  interested  in  the 
beaver.  Reaching  down,  he  touched  the  water  with 
right  fore  paw,  whimpered,  but  hesitated  about 
going  in.  While  he  stood  looking  trustingly  at  them, 
the  beaver,  who  had  been  watching  him,  dived 
into  the  pond. 

Cubs  as  well  as  human  children  sometimes  be- 
29 


come  separated  and  lost  from  even  the  most  watch- 
ful of  mothers.  This  little  cub  was  so  thin  and  weak 
that  he  must  have  been  lost  for  some  days.  In  the 
woods  a  trace  of  snow  that  had  fallen  a  day  or  two 
before  still  lingered.  This  enabled  me  to  back- 
track the  cub  to  where  he  had  probably  spent  a 
part  of  the  night,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  up 
stream  from  the  pond.  His  tracks  showed  that  he 
had  wandered  much. 

If  I  left  the  cub  in  the  woods  it  appeared  im- 
probable that  his  mother  would  find  him  before  he 
starved,  and  it  was  unlikely  that  I  should  find  her, 
even  though  I  continued  the  dangerous  business  of 
searching  for  her.  I  caught  the  cub  without  effort, 
and,  after  a  few  feeble  attempts  to  scratch  and 
bite  me,  he  calmed  down,  licked  my  hand,  and  then 
began  to  suck  a  raisin  which  I  handed  him  from 
my  pocket.  He  was  a  tiny  little  fellow  and  could 
not  have  weighed  more  than  nine  or  ten  pounds.  I 
carried  him  to  the  nearest  ranch.  The  children 
were  glad  to  have  him,  and  a  letter  from  them  some 
months  afterwards  told  me  that  "Maverick"  was 
happy  in  his  new  home. 

From  a  tree-top  perch  I  once  had  a  good  glimpse 
of  bear  life,  as  a  mother  grizzly  with  two  young 
30 


<Cu80  anb 

cubs  stopped  by  a  tree  to  dig  out  mice.  In  the 
midst  of  her  digging  mother  grizzly  caught  a  faint 
scent  of  me  and  instantly  was  all  concentration. 
On  tiptoe,  motionless  as  a  statue,  she  stood  look- 
ing, listening,  and  gathering  information  with  her 
nostrils.  Then  she  relaxed,  dropped  on  all  fours, 
and  for  a  moment  seemed  uncertain  as  to  her  next 
move.  One  of  the  cubs  concluded  to  suckle.  In- 
stantly the  mother  knocked  him  headlong  with  a 
side  swing  of  her  left  fore  paw.  Such  thoughtless- 
ness in  the  face  of  possible  danger  was  evidently 
too  much  to  be  excused. 

The  little  cub  landed  some  yards  away,  tum- 
bling heels  over  head.  He  showed  no  surprise,  in 
fact  pretended  that  this  was  a  part  of  his  plan.  The 
instant  he  rolled  on  his  feet  he  sniffed  the  earth 
eagerly  as  though  he  had  made  a  remarkable  dis- 
covery and  started  to  dig.  Without  uncovering  a 
thing  he  presently  raced  away  to  overtake  mother 
and  the  other  cub. 

Cubs  appear  to  depend  upon  mother's  milk  until 
they  are  about  six  months  of  age.  Before  this  time 
they  may  eat  a  little  solid  food  now  and  then,  but 
this  is  done  more  out  of  curiosity  and  in  imitation 
of  mother  than  from  desire.  It  is  likely  to  be  July 
31 


before  they  do  even  this  and  late  August  before 
they  eat  solid  things  with  any  regularity.  They  are 
not  likely  to  be  weaned  until  just  before  denning- 
up  time.  The  Indians  in  Alaska  told  me  that  some- 
times the  cubs  are  not  weaned  until  the  second 
autumn  of  their  lives.  This  certainly  is  sometimes 
true,  but  I  think  it  peculiar  to  Alaska. 

Comical  and  cunning  the  cubs  appear  as  they 
mimic  the  mother.  When  she  stands  up  with  fore 
paws  against  her  breast,  looking  intently  into  the 
distance,  the  cubs  stand  up  with  their  paws  upon 
their  breasts  and  look  in  the  same  direction.  When 
mother  turns  or  sniffs,  these  cunning  little  imita- 
tors also  turn  and  sniff.  The  cubs  walk  up  to  a  spot 
where  the  mother  has  been  sniffing  and  digging  and 
there  sniff  and  dig.  If  mother  continues  digging 
rather  long,  they  find  a  place  of  their  own  and  dig. 
If  mother  reaches  up  and  pulls  down  a  fruit-laden 
limb  and  takes  a  bite,  they  too  must  pull  down  a 
twig  of  some  kind  and  at  least  look  at  it. 

Around  the  shores  of  Chickadee  Pond  a  mother 
grizzly  and  her  two  cubs  spent  a  July  day  digging 
out  grass  roots,  willow  roots,  and  probably  also 
grubs.  I  watched  them  for  hours.  Occasionally  one 
took  a  mouthful  of  grass  or  a  bite  of  blue  merten- 
32 


Cu60  anb 

sia.  After  a  while  mother  waded  into  the  pond; 
cubs  of  course  followed. 

The  large  yellow  pond-lilies  were  in  bloom,  and 
mother  went  about  biting  off  stalk  after  stalk,  ap- 
parently forgetting  the  cubs.  One  of  them  grabbed 
a  lily  stem  and  bit  two  or  three  times  without  cut- 
ting it.  Finally,  leaning  back,  he  pulled  it  apart. 
He  chewed  it  a  little  but  did  n't  seem  to  enjoy  it. 
Then,  holding  the  lily  in  one  paw,  he  thrust  the 
great  golden  bulb  into  his  mouth  and  ate  it  with 
apparent  satisfaction.  The  other  little  cub  after 
much  tugging  finally  uprooted  a  lily.  He  chewed 
at  the  four-foot  stalk  in  three  or  four  places.  Then, 
taking  the  bulb  in  both  fore  paws,  he  ate  it  as 
though  it  were  an  apple. 

It  is  ever  a  joy  to  watch  a  grizzly  and  her  chil- 
dren. A  mother  grizzly  crossing  a  lake  just  south  of 
Long's  Peak  swam  low  in  the  water  with  a  cub  sit- 
ting contentedly  on  her  back.  She  came  directly 
towards  the  shore  where  I  was  standing  concealed 
behind  trees.  As  she  approached  I  threw  a  stone  into 
the  water  close  to  her.  Wheeling  about  like  light- 
ning, Mother  Grizzly  started  at  full  speed  for  the 
farther  shore.  The  cub  tipped  over  in  the  water,  but 
hastily  took  a  tail-hold  and  was  towed  rapidly  away. 
33 


I  once  saw  a  grizzly  and  cub  walking  leisurely 
along  the  top  of  a  ridge  above  timber-line,  the  cub 
with  long  strides  following  in  mother's  footprints. 
There  were  perhaps  six  or  more  inches  of  snow.  I 
sat  still.  They  were  coming  almost  towards  me. 
Watching  carefully  with  my  glass,  I  noticed  that 
the  cub  was  limping.  He  suddenly  sat  down  and 
bawled.  The  mother,  after  walking  on  several 
steps,  turned  to  look  at  the  cub,  who  was  holding 
his  hind  foot  between  his  fore  paws  and  examin- 
ing his  hurt.  I  heard  him  whimper  two  or  three 
times,  and  finally  mother  went  back.  She  looked 
down  at  the  bottom  of  the  foot  rather  indiffer- 
ently, then  turned  and  walked  on.  The  cub  fol- 
lowed after. 

When  they  passed  near  me  the  mother  rose 
suddenly  on  hind  legs,  stood  with  fore  paws  held 
against  her  chest,  and  looked  and  looked,  and 
sniffed  and  sniffed.  Little  cub,  forgetting  his  sore 
hind  foot,  stood  up  with  little  paws  against  his 
breast,  stretched  his  neck,  looked,  and  sniffed  —  a 
perfect  little  imitation  of  the  mother.  She  moved 
off  several  steps  and  stopped  on  the  very  edge  of  a 
precipitous  ridge  to  scout.  The  cub  placed  his  fore 
paws  against  mother's  side  and  from  this  secure 
34 


onb  (Wlof  $tv 


position  peeped  over  and  beyond  her.  But  they  did 
not  detect  me  and  soon  went  leisurely  on. 

Two  miles  farther  I  crept  as  close  as  I  could  and 
paused  to  watch.  The  mother  was  digging,  the  cub 
watching  eagerly.  As  her  digging  continued  for  some 
time,  he  moved  away,  sniffed  two  or  three  times, 
and  then  began  digging  rapidly  on  his  own  account. 
While  both  were  digging,  there  was  a  whir  of  wings 
and  a  sweep  of  shadows,  and  a  flock  of  white  ptar- 
migan alighted  among  broken  ledges  near  by. 
While  I  was  watching  them,  a  flock  of  mountain 
sheep  came  along  the  out-thrusting  ridge  and 
paused  to  play  for  a  few  moments  on  the  sky-line. 
In  pairs  they  faced,  then  reared  up  and  sparred 
with  their  horns;  they  cut  lively  circles  around 
one  another.  A  rugged,  snowy  peak  loomed  grim  be- 
hind the  scene,  and  the  dense  forest  spread  away 
for  miles  below.  The  bears,  the  ptarmigan,  and 
the  sheep,  the  white  peak,  the  purple  forest,  and 
the  blue  sky  gave  me  a  striking  experience  and  left 
a  splendid  picture.  As  I  turned  to  go,  the  cub 
was  giving  all  his  attention  to  the  play  of  the 
sheep. 

The  almost  continual  play  of  the  cubs  is  a  never- 
ending  source  of  interest.  They  race,  they  wrestle, 
35 


they  box,  and  they  play  hide  and  seek  with  utmost 
enthusiasm.  They  climb  upon  mother's  back,  they 
swat  and  pummel  her  and  maul  her.  She  will  en- 
dure this  by  the  hour  with  absolute  indifference. 
Mother  sometimes  plays  with  the  cubs  but  more 
often  lets  them  play  with  her,  or,  unconcerned, 
simply  watches  them  in  their  scrambles. 

Playing  cubs  are  strikingly  boylike  in  their  ways. 
They  tumble  and  roll  about  with  lively  energy. 
Their  boxing  is  a  ludicrously  earnest  show.  Stand- 
ing up  they  clinch,  struggle,  break  away  and  watch 
for  a  new  advantage.  They  strike  first  with  one 
paw,  then  with  the  other,  then  with  both  at  once. 
They  come  close,  dodge,  and  jump  back;  they  hold 
one  paw  high  and  the  other  low;  sometimes  they 
guard  the  face  with  one  arm  while  striking  with 
the  other.  Often  they  strike  wildly,  evidently  in- 
tending to  miss;  they  bristle  up,  growl,  and  have 
great  fun,  pretending  to  be  more  in  earnest  and 
terrible  than  they  really  are. 

No  two  boys  ever  had  more  excitement  and  fun 
swimming  in  a  river  than  did  two  cub  bears  whom 
I  once  watched.  These  cubs  raced,  splashed,  and 
pushed  one  another  under  the  water.  They  dived 
and  swam  beneath  the  surface  and  from  a  bowlder 
36 


<Cu80  anb  Qfllo^et 

plunged  into  it  with  terrific  splashes,  sometimes 
forward,  sometimes  backward. 

One  of  the  happiest  incidents  which  I  have  seen 
in  the  grizzly  bear  world  was  a  mother  grizzly  who 
had  discovered  some  honey  in  a  standing  dead 
tree,  perhaps  five  or  six  feet  above  the  ground. 
Tearing  open  the  edges  of  the  hole,  she  helped  her- 
self to  a  quantity  of  the  honey,  then  called  her  two 
cubs,  who  were  playing  a  short  distance  away. 
They  needed  no  second  invitation  when  they  saw 
mother  standing  on  hind  legs  and  leaning  forward 
with  fore  paws  against  the  trunk  of  the  tree.  Up 
the  incline  of  her  back  they  raced  merrily,  and, 
standing  upon  mother's  head,  they  ate  with  eager- 
ness this  wonderful  feast  of  honey. 

The  cubs  den  up  with  their  mother  the  winter 
following  their  birth.  The  mother  is  their  compan- 
ion until  they  are  a  year  and  a  half  old,  sometimes 
longer.  During  their  second  summer  she  commonly 
leaves  the  cub  —  or  cubs,  as  the  case  may  be  —  to 
make  their  way  in  the  world  alone.  Once  the  family 
ties  are  broken,  the  grizzly  is  seldom  seen  with 
other  bears. 

If  two,  three,  or  four  in  number,  the  yearlings 
run  together  another  year,  and  are  chummy  and 
37 


inseparable.  One  becomes  the  leader  and  is  fol- 
lowed faithfully.  If  trouble  arises,  they  are  united 
and  devoted  little  people.  To  kill  or  injure  one  of 
the  youngsters  means  that  a  hunter  is  promptly 
charged  by  the  others,  and  often  killed  or  injured. 

The  cubs  are  great  ramblers.  They  may  wander 
through  unoccupied  regions  and  over  the  territory 
of  other  bears.  They  are  not  considered  intruders 
by  other  bears.  There  are  numerous  interesting 
incidents  in  the  companionship  of  these  year-olds, 
and  sometimes  of  two-year-olds,  who  have  ex- 
plored miles  of  territory,  chased  animals,  played, 
and  enjoyed  themselves  together,  and  in  moments 
of  danger  united  and  fought  the  enemy.  Yearling 
bears  den  up  together  the  second  winter  and  oc- 
casionally also  the  third  winter.  Generally,  how- 
ever, after  the  second  winter,  that  is  to  say,  when 
two  and  a  half  years  old,  they  separate.  From  this 
time  on  the  grizzly  lives  alone. 

Where  does  he  make  his  first  home?  Sometimes 
the  young  grizzly  crowds  into  the  territory  adjoin- 
ing his  birthplace,  but  at  other  times  he  must  wan- 
der far  away  to  find  territory  not  already  occupied. 
In  the  past,  when  grizzlies  were  numerous,  the  in- 
creased population  each  year  must  have  compelled 
38 


Cu60  anb  Qfto^er 

readjustments  and  forced  a  reduction  of  the  area 
claimed  by  each  individual.  But  in  these  times,  ex- 
cept perhaps  in  two  or  three  National  Parks,  there 
are  thousands  of  square  miles  here  and  there  over 
the  West  without  a  grizzly  on  them.  But  the  griz- 
zly is  fond  of  his  home  territory,  and  in  it,  except 
for  occasional  visits  into  the  outside  world,  he 
spends  his  life. 


A  MOTHER  grizzly  and  her  year-and-a-half- 
old  cub  came  shuffling  along  the  shore  of  a 
little  lake  in  the  No-Summer  Mountains.  Where  a 
brook  flowed  into  the  lake  she  stopped,  looked  at 
the  cub,  and  possibly  grunted  something  to  him. 
She  may  have  said,  "Here,  Johnny,  is  a  territory 
not  claimed  by  other  bears;  this  is  to  be  your  do- 
main." I  watched  him  as  she  went  ambling  away 
alone.  He  stood  looking  at  the  ground  for  several 
seconds,  then  turned  to  see  his  mother  in  the  dis- 
tance, and  finally  surveyed  his  surroundings. 
Pushed  off  into  the  world  to  shift  for  himself,  the 
cub  walked  up  the  mountain-side  and  disappeared 
in  the  woods. 

I  had  seen  this  cub  and  his  mother  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Medicine  Bow  Mountains,  at  least  fifty 
miles  away.  When  I  saw  her  leaving  the  cub  to 
make  his  way  alone,  I  wanted  to  ask,  "Is  it  com- 
mon for  a  mother  grizzly  to  take  her  children  to 
the  territory  that  is  to  be  their  home?"  The  selec- 
tion of  this  domain  may  sometimes  be  made  by  the 
43 


mother  but  most  often,  probably,  it  is  made  by  the 
cubs. 

But,  selection  of  the  home  territory  aside,  the 
grizzly  leads  a  solitary  life;  he  lives  apart  from 
other  bears,  has  his  thought,  his  work,  his  recrea- 
tion, and  his  play  by  himself.  Alone  he  hunts  for 
food,  alone  he  wanders  for  adventure.  Singly  he 
fights  his  foes,  and  in  solitude  he  dens  up  hi  winter. 
A  possible  explanation  of  this  may  lie  in  the  fact 
that  being  alone  is  an  advantage  to  an  animal  of 
his  size  and  enormous  food-requirements.  Then, 
too,  since  the  advent  of  the  white  man  with  the 
long-range  rifle,  it  is  an  advantage  to  act  singly. 
The  grizzly's  solitary  habit  may  be  one  which  is  an 
advantage  in  the  perpetuation  of  the  species.  Only 
twice  have  I  known  of  father,  mother,  and  cubs 
being  seen  together,  and  I  have  never  heard  of 
their  denning  together. 

A  grizzly  has  his  own  home  territory.  He  claims 
the  exclusive  use  of  certain  lands.  In  only  one  in- 
stance have  I  known  two  companion  grizzlies  to 
occupy  the  same  region  permanently.  These  two 
were  often  seen  eating,  traveling,  and  resting  near 
each  other.  Though  the  grizzly  wanders  off  the 
home  territory  for  an  occasional  visit,  in  it  through 
44 


the  seasons  and  through  the  years  he  makes  his 
living;  he  defends  it  against  invaders,  and  in  it  he 
commonly  dies. 

\  Most  wild  creatures  have  their  home  territories, 
areas  which  they  claim  the  right  to  use  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  others  of  the  same  species.  The  bear  is 
likely  to  hold  more  territory  than  any  other  kind 
of  life;  and  he  will  dominate  in  the  territory  all 
kinds  of  life  that  may  temporarily  conflict  with  his 
use  of  it.  Most  birds  and  beasts  use  their  large  or 
tiny  bit  of  earth  in  pairs,  flocks,  herds,  or  colonies. 
The  grizzly  uses  his  alone.  His  domain  may  be  in 
part  the  claimed  territory  of  other  species;  lions, 
beavers,  wolves,  eagles,  and  other  life  may  use  it. 

The  grizzly  bear  is  the  aristocrat  of  the  wilds. 
He  is  lordly  and  reserved.  He  will  meet  a  bighorn 
sheep  or  other  wild  animal,  and,  though  aware  of 
its  presence,  pay  no  apparent  attention  to  it.  If 
near  another  bear,  either  a  black  or  a  grizzly,  while 
appearing  to  be  disinterested,  or  pretending  not  to 
have  seen  him,  he  is  in  fact  watching  the  other's 
movements.  A  black  bear  avoids  him.  Sometimes 
two  grizzlies  who  have  been  feeding  near  each  other 
deliberately  meet,  or  come  face  to  face.  Each,  with 
admirable  acting,  feigns  intense  surprise  that  the 
45 


other  is  there.  They  bristle  up,  exchange  a  few  un- 
friendly roars  and  growls,  make  a  threatening 
move  or  two,  and  then  go  on.  Sometimes  they  pass 
as  though  unconscious  of  each  other's  presence. 

A  network  of  trails  extends  over  the  grizzly's 
mountain  home.  These  reach  food-supply  centres, 
lookout  and  resting  stations,  swimming-holes,  and 
other  places  often  visited.  Generally  when  going 
anywhere  the  grizzly  follows  a  trail ;  if  pursued,  he 
is  most  certain  to  do  so.  Many  of  these  trails  are 
dim,  but  others  are  deeply  worn.  He  may  some- 
times make  a  new  trail,  but  in  general  he  follows 
the  old  ones  which  have  been  used  by  generations 
of  bears.  His  domain  may  be  crossed  by  other  wild- 
life trails,  which  he  may  or  may  not  use. 

Topography,  mountain  barriers,  streams,  or 
other  natural  boundary -lines  in  part  determine  the 
form  of  the  grizzly's  home  territory.  The  size  is 
determined  by  the  food-supply,  by  the  bear  popu- 
lation of  the  region,  and  by  individual  prowess.  A 
bear  of  exceptional  prowess  may  hold  an  empire. 

The  territory  dominated  by  old  "Timberline" 
had  an  area  of  about  eighty  square  miles.  The 
western  boundary-line  followed  the  rim  of  the  Con- 
tinental Divide  for  nearly  fifteen  miles.  Meeker 
46 


Ridge  and  Cony  Creek  were  other  boundary-lines, 
while  at  the  north  stood  Chief's  Head  Mountain 
and  Long's  Peak.  Toward  the  south  the  territory 
narrowed  and  was  not  more  than  two  miles  across; 
in  the  centre  it  must  have  been  nearly  ten  miles 
wide.  An  extensive  area  lay  above  the  timber-line. 
There  were  forests  primeval,  a  number  of  canons 
and  streams,  numerous  small  lakes  and  beaver 
ponds.  In  this  varied  and  extensive  region  old 
"Timberline"  had  all  the  necessities  of  life  and 
many  of  the  luxuries  of  beardom. 

The  claw-marks  and  the  tooth-marks  which 
grizzlies  and  some  other  animals  place  on  trees  are 
often  interpreted  as  being  "No  Trespass"  signs, 
indications  of  boundary-lines,  survey  marks,  or  the 
seal  of  ownership  of  the  landlord.  If  these  marks 
are  extremely  high,  they  are  supposed  to  inspire 
respect  for  the  one  occupying  the  region,  or  to 
cause  terror  to  the  invader,  unless  he  be  large 
enough  to  reach  higher.  But  I  question  any  such 
significance  attached  to  these  marks.  Ofttimes  the 
bear  leaves  these  marks  in  the  centre  of  his  home 
range,  sometimes  within  the  home  territory  of  a 
lion  or  a  big-horn.  While  the  idea  of  its  being  a 
mark  of  ownership  is  a  most  artistic  and  enter- 
47 


taining  one,  it  does  not  appear  to  have  any  natural- 
history  value.  -  e- 

I  have  seen  bears,  reaching  high,  tear  out  pieces 
of  bark,  and  have  also  seen  both  bears  and  lions 
put  claw-marks  upon  trees.  Generally  this  clawing 
and  biting  was  done  during  languid  and  leisurely 
moments  when  there  was  nothing  definite  to  do. 
One  day  I  watched  a  grizzly  stand  on  hind  feet 
upon  a  five-foot  snowdrift  where  he  had  been  ly- 
ing. Placing  his  front  paws  against  a  spruce  as 
high  as  he  could  reach,  he  clawed  the  bark  indiffer- 
ently. It  was  more  of  a  muscle-stretching  perform- 
ance than  anything  else.  He  took  a  tiny  bite  out 
of  the  tree  and  walked  off  with  the  strip  of  bark 
in  his  mouth.  Then  he  gave  it  a  playful  shake  and 
dropped  it. 

It  is  well  known  that  wolves,  beavers,  and  some 
other  animals  have  information  places.  These  may 
or  may  not  be  intentionally  established.  Some  of 
these  places  are  where  wild-life  trails  cross,  or  are 
near  water-holes,  salt-licks,  play  places,  or  some  neu- 
tral feeding-ground.  They  may  be  frequented  exclu- 
sively by  one  species  or  by  several.  Even  the  casual 
visits  and  bark-biting  of  bears  incidentally  contri- 
bute something  of  interest  to  the  next  visitors. 
48 


In  these  places  an  animal  may  learn  of  the  recent 
visit  of  one  of  his  species  or  of  a  dreaded  enemy, 
or  may  even  find  information  as  to  the  sex  of 
the  visitors.  They  are  thus  akin  to  country  cross- 
roads where  gossip  is  exchanged  concerning  human 
affairs. 

A  grizzly  that  I  was  trailing  turned  abruptly 
aside  to  visit  a  news  station  of  this  kind.  Plainly  it 
was  a  loafing  or  frequented  spot  for  wild  life ;  from 
the  nature  of  the  topography  and  from  numerous 
tracks  seen  during  later  visits  I  learned  that  it  was 
a  stamping-ground  and  a  trail-crossing.  Foxes, 
coyotes,  skunks,  rats,  deer,  and  mountain  sheep 
had  been  visitors.  The  manner  in  which  the  bear 
turned  aside  to  visit  the  place  suggested  that  he 
had  been  there  before;  but  he  may  just  have  caught 
interesting,  newsy  scent  which  attracted  him  there 
for  the  first  time.  His  actions  were  those  of  one  who 
is  hunting  for  news. 

At  night  the  bear  may  lie  down  in  almost  any 
place,  but  during  the  daytime  he  selects  one  of  the 
safest  places  in  his  realm.  If  in  the  high  mountains 
this  may  be  on  a  ridge  above  the  timber-line,  or  on 
a  treeless  hilltop  from  which  he  commands  a  wide 
outlook,  or  in  the  end  of  a  canon,  or  in  a  thicket. 
49 


Wherever  the  place,  it  is  one  where  the  bear  cannot 
be  easily  surprised,  and  where  his  scouts  —  his 
scent,  his  sight,  and  his  ears  —  would  easily  warn 
him  of  the  approach  of  any  possible  danger. 

When  pursued,  the  grizzly  tries  to  keep  within 
his  domain.  Usually  he  travels  only  seven  or  eight 
miles  in  one  direction,  then  doubles  back,  circles, 
and  zigzags.  Only  two  or  three  times  when  trailing 
the  bear  have  I  known  him  to  travel  more  than 
fourteen  or  fifteen  miles  in  one  direction.  In  one 
long  trailing  experience  I  observed  that  the  bear, 
with  many  twists  and  zigzags,  covered  his  domain 
practically  twice  over.  I  trailed  the  same  grizzly 
two  Septembers,  three  years  apart.  I  started  him 
the  second  time  near  the  place  where  I  had  started 
him  before,  and  he  followed  for  three  days  over 
almost  exactly  the  same  route  taken  the  first  time. 

Three  prospectors  and  I  were  rowing  across  a 
lake  in  the  Sawtooth  Mountains  of  Idaho.  When 
about  half  a  mile  from  the  farther  shore,  we  spied  a 
grizzly  swimming  across.  We  pursued,  and  when  we 
got  near,  one  of  the  men  proposed  to  rope  him,  say- 
ing that  the  bear  could  now  tow  us  ashore.  The 
other  two  protested  so  vigorously  that  the  rope 
was  not  thrown.  Fortunate  for  us  that  it  was  not, 
50 


for  had  it  fallen  over  the  neck  of  Mr.  Grizzly,  the 
chances  are  that  he  might  have  climbed  into  the 
boat.  In  Alaska  I  saw  a  grizzly  out  at  sea,  swim- 
ming vigorously  along  between  two  islands  that 
were  seven  miles  apart.  The  grizzly  is  fond  of  wa- 
ter, is  an  excellent  and  enduring  swimmer,  and  in 
the  water  fights  effectively. 

While  I  was  on  a  winter  trip  into  the  San  Juan 
Mountains  a  prospector  told  me  of  an  occurrence 
which  he  had  just  witnessed.  A  snow-slide  crashing 
down  into  a  gulch  close  to  a  grizzly  den  aroused 
the  bear,  who  came  out  with  a  rush  to  see  what  was 
going  on.  He  did  not  lose  his  head,  but  looked 
about  until  the  air  cleared  of  the  swirling  snow- 
dust.  Then  he  walked  round  the  wreckage  brought 
down  by  the  slide  and  finally  climbed  it  and  ex- 
plored the  opening  it  had  smashed  through  the 
woods.  After  being  out  more  than  an  hour  he  re- 
entered  the  den. 

Though  living  a  solitary  life  in  the  seclusion  of 
the  wilderness,  this  bear  was  again  routed  out  be- 
fore spring.  His  den  was  only  a  few  feet  above  the 
stream,  on  the  mountain-side.  The  d£bris  brought 
down  by  the  snow-slide  forty  or  fifty  feet  up  the 
gulch  dammed  the  stream  and  raised  the  water  so 


that  it  leaked  through  the  earth  into  the  den. 
Again  driven  forth  from  his  den,  the  bear  —  so 
his  tracks  in  the  snow  showed  —  after  one  pause 
climbed  to  another  den  on  the  mountain-side 
about  two  miles  distant. 

The  grizzly  spends  about  one  third  of  each  year 
in  hibernation.  He  may  use  the  same  den  year  after 
year,  repairing  and  reshaping  it;  or  perhaps  he  will 
dig  a  new  one.  Sometimes  he  goes  outside  his  own 
territory  for  a  den  to  his  liking.  He  is  sometimes 
driven  forth  during  hibernation  by  landslides  as 
well  as  by  snow-slides  and  floods. 

A  grizzly  is  strongly  attached  to  his  home  terri- 
tory and  spends  most  of  his  time  in  it.  Occasion- 
ally, and  in  exceptional  cases  regularly,  he  wan- 
ders far  away.  A  scarcity  of  food  may  cause  him 
to  leave  home  temporarily;  or  excessive  food  else- 
where may  attract  him. 

Bears  and  lions  are  not  neighborly,  and  at  best 
each  ignores  the  other;  but  one  bear  I  knew  fol- 
lowed a  lion  for  weeks,  and  others  have  occasion- 
ally done  likewise,  profiting  by  the  food-supply  — 
the  excessive  killing  of  the  lion.  Here  was  unusual 
tolerance,  almost  friendly  association,  between 
antagonistic  wild  folk. 

52 


The  abundance  of  food  at  any  place  in  a  bear's 
territory  gives  other  grizzlies  public  rights.  A 
berry-patch  or  a  stream  which  has  a  supply  equal 
to  the  needs  of  many  bears,  a  beaver  pond,  or  a 
lake,  may  become  a  public  feeding-place.  A  flood, 
a  storm,  a  snow-slide,  or  other  agency  may  take 
the  lives  of  a  number  of  animals  —  cause  a  conges- 
tion of  food  in  any  territory. 

That  there  sometimes  is  fighting  in  these  public 
places,  and  that  one  bear  sometimes  tries  to  hog  a 
larger  food-supply  than  he  can  use  does  not  change 
the  custom  of  the  species.  Incidentally,  this  viola- 
tion of  general  or  public  rights  but  reminds  us  how 
human-like  are  bears  in  their  habits,  good  and  bad. 

Lewis  and  Clark  found  a  number  of  grizzlies 
congregated  at  places  along  the  Missouri  River. 
Apparently  these  had  got  together  like  those  in 
Yellowstone  Park,  because  of  congested  food-sup- 
ply. It  appears  that  at  regular  crossings  along  the 
river  numbers  of  buffalo  were  annually  drowned, 
and  carcasses  regularly  strewn  at  about  the  same 
places. 

There  are  a  number  of  regions  in  Alaska  where  a 
bear  lives  in  his  own  chosen  locality  but  regularly 
goes  to  a  public  feeding-ground.  Much  of  the  food 
53 


is  along  the  seashore  and  on  the  lower  courses  of 
streams.  There  is  also  a  food-belt  above  the  tim- 
ber-line, where  mice  abound  and  where  there  is 
grass  upon  which  bears  feed.  The  seasonal  nature 
of  part  of  the  food  may  thus  encourage  or  compel 
bears  of  one  locality  to  travel  a  long  distance  to 
secure  the  only  food  obtainable. 

If  there  be  straggling  grizzlies  who  wander  about 
like  gypsies,  they  are  the  rare  exception :  the  near- 
est to  them  were  the  few  "buffalo  grizzlies,"  those 
that  in  old  days  followed  the  migrating  buffalo 
herds. 

Though  the  problem  of  getting  a  living  makes 
up  most  of  the  grizzly's  daily  programme,  he 
knows  the  wisdom  of  taking  time  off  and  having  a 
change  from  the  routine  of  life.  The  ability  to  con- 
centrate in  eager  play  is  probably  one  of  the  best 
evidences  of  the  grizzly's  unusual  brain-power.  It 
is  good  to  know  that,  although  most  of  the  time  he 
lives  alone  and  takes  things  seriously,  he  also  has 
the  power  to  relax  and  to  build  and  restore  himself 
in  play.  This  may  help  to  give  contentment  to  soli- 
tary life  in  home  territory. 

When  well  fed,  the  grizzly  sometimes  strolls  over 
his  estate  and  pauses  to  watch  the  antics  of  other 
54 


wild  life.  He  will  stand  in  a  stream  to  see  the  ways  of 
water-ouzels.  The  sliding  of  otter  at  play  appears  to 
interest  him,  and  I  have  discovered  otter-slides  by 
following  his  tracks  to  them.  Once,  when  I  was  en- 
joying the  play  of  a  number  of  beaver  racing  and 
splashing  in  a  pond,  a  grizzly  watched  them  for  a 
time  from  the  edge  of  the  woods,  then  came  out  on 
the  dam  and  sat  down  where  he  could  better  see 
them.  Though  a  solitary  and  self-contained  baron, 
he  has  many  entertaining  interests. 

There  are  times  at  home,  or  abroad,  when  the 
grizzly  is  not  deeply  interested  in  anything,  when 
time  hangs  a  little  heavy  on  his  hands,  or  on  his 
mind.  Sometimes  at  home  he  does  n't  quite  know 
what  to  do  with  himself.  He  is  n't  hungry,  he  can't 
think  of  any  place  where  he  cares  to  go,  he  is  n't 
interested  in  swimming,  he  does  n't  even  want  to 
play.  He  does  n't  care  to  lie  down  and  sleep.  He 
starts  off  languidly,  stops,  moves  on,  rears  up, 
takes  a  bite  out  of  the  bark  of  a  tree ;  but  he  does  n't 
care  for  the  bark  to  eat  and  does  n't  even  look  up 
to  see  how  high  he  has  bitten. 

The  grizzly  is  a  descendant  of  a  long  line  of  wan- 
derers and  may  occasionally  explore  surrounding 
territory  for  sheer  adventure.  If  much  harassed  by 
55 


settlers,  he  will  move  to  a  permanent  home  in 
lands  far  distant.  It  would  be  comparatively  easy 
for  a  grizzly  to  become  acquainted  with  four  or  five 
thousand  miles  of  territory.  He  travels  rapidly,  has 
endurance,  and  in  a  single  night  could  cover  a  hun- 
dred miles  or  more. 

Some  bears  get  the  idea  of  territorial  expansion 
and  go  forth  to  seize  a  part  of  a  neighbor's  hunting- 
ground.  Thus  one  bear  may  be  annoyed  by  another 
who  makes  too  frequent  raids  into  his  domain,  and 
feel  called  upon  to  defend  his  territory  against  the 
invader.  When  past  prime  a  bear  is  sometimes 
driven  forth  into  an  unfriendly  world  by  a  young, 
vigorous  conqueror. 

On  one  occasion  I  tracked  a  grizzly  for  sixty 
miles  from  the  margin  of  its  home  range.  It  trav- 
eled along  a  line  that  indicated  it  had  a  definite 
place  in  mind  to  which  it  was  going.  It  explored  a 
canon  region,  and,  a  day  or  two  later,  as  tracks  in 
the  snow  showed,  went  back  to  its  old  range  along 
the  trail  it  had  followed  in  leaving  it. 

Going  one  autumn  from  Estes  Park  to  North 

Park,  Colorado,  I  came  upon  a  grizzly's  track  in 

the  upper  end  of  Forest  Canon.  For  several  miles  it 

had  followed  an  old  wild-life  trail.  It  crossed  the 

56 


Continental  Divide,  then  the  No-Summer  Moun- 
tains. From  its  trail  I  judged  that  it,  too,  knew 
where  it  was  going. 

Had  these  bears  gone  to  explore,  to  see  the  op- 
portunities of  a  new  region?  Or  had  they  returned 
to  old  territory  which  they  knew,  perhaps  to  ob- 
tain some  particular  kind  of  food,  or  just  to  have 
an  outing?  If  seeking  new  domains,  it  is  possible 
that  they  would  explore  a  number  of  localities  be- 
fore selecting  one. 

In  a  few  localities  bears  migrate  in  the  spring 
and  return  home  in  the  fall.  In  these  migrations 
the  grizzly  breaks  his  solitary  custom  and  travels 
in  company.  Most  likely  the  bears  happen  to  be  on 
the  same  route  at  the  same  time,  and,  like  Pullman 
passengers,  travel  together  without  speaking. 

I  saw  eight  grizzly  bears  one  November  travel- 
ing single  file  northward  from  Middle  Park.  Back- 
tracking, I  found  that  they  had  come  from  the 
mountainous  empire  around  the  southern  end  of 
this  park.  They  crossed  over  into  North  Park  in  al- 
most a  straight  line.  Were  they,  I  wondered,  head- 
ing for  a  new  home,  or  was  this  an  annual  foraging 
affair?  The  topography  of  the  country  traveled  had 
some  bearing  on  the  common  route  taken,  but  why 
57 


were  they  traveling  together?  I  heard  of  a  number  of 
bears  traveling  together  in  northern  New  Mexico. 

On  one  occasion  a  hunter  on  No- Wood  Creek  in 
the  Big  Horns  saw  seven  old  grizzlies  and  two  cubs 
together  in  the  autumn.  They  were  back-tracked 
to  the  Yellowstone  Park.  The  garbage-dumps  in 
the  Park  are  frequented  by  neighboring  bears  and 
by  numbers  from  outside  the  bounds  of  the  Park. 

As  bears  age,  their  teeth  become  broken  and 
badly  worn  away.  With  difficulty  they  manage  to 
live.  They  are  often  handicapped  through  loss  of 
toes  and  by  other  injuries  received  in  accidents 
and  fights,  and  through  a  weakening  of  faculties 
due  to  age.  Their  normal  life  appears  to  be  from 
thirty-five  to  fifty  years. 

In  the  mountains  of  the  north  of  Yellowstone 
Park  I  came  upon  an  extremely  old,  hard-looking 
bear.  I  sat  for  some  time  within  forty  feet  of  him, 
watching  him  rip  an  old  log  to  pieces  to  get  the  ants 
and  white  grubs.  I  was  so  close  that  I  could  see  his 
tongue  as  it  busily  licked  to  right  and  left.  His  red- 
looking  eyes  stared  strangely.  I  think  that  he  must 
have  been  nearly  blind,  and  also  that  he  had  nearly 
lost  his  ability  to  scent.  When  I  moved  a  little 
closer,  he  stopped  eating,  rose  up,  sniffed  the  air 
58 


queerly  as  though  endeavoring  to  catch  scent  of 
me,  then  listened  and  looked.  He  was  not  at  all  sure 
of  my  presence,  though  looking  in  my  direction. 
Two  or  three  days  later  this  old  bear  was  killed. 
Many  of  his  teeth  were  gone,  and  others  were 
badly  worn  away.  His  claws  were  extremely  blunt. 
His  head  and  hide  showed  many  scars  —  marks  of 
fights  and  marks  from  numerous  bullets. 

One  February,  when  I  was  spending  a  few  days 
with  a  prospector,  he  brought  home  the  interesting 
news  that  he  had  found  a  dead  grizzly  bear.  The 
bear  evidently  had  died  while  hibernating.  He  was 
found  curled  up  in  his  den  and  frozen  solid.  He  was 
old,  in  poor  condition,  and  his  insides  were  swarm- 
ing with  vermin.  I  once  found  a  fat  young  grizzly, 
apparently  healthy,  who  had  the  appearance  of 
having  frozen  to  death  while  hibernating.  The  time 
was  about  the  middle  of  January.  The  winter  to 
date  had  been  extremely  cold,  and  but  little  snow 
had  fallen. 

I  have  known  of  other  grizzlies  who  met  strange 
deaths,  but,  considering  the  fairly  numerous  grizzly 
population  at  the  time  when  I  was  wandering  the 
wilds,  the  number  of  bodies  found  is  surprisingly 
small.  One  of  these  grizzlies  had  perished  in  a  forest 
59 


fire,  another  in  a  desert  flood,  one  was  killed  at  the 
foot  of  a  cliff  by  a  falling  stone,  and  another  was 
crushed  in  a  snow-slide.  Just  how  or  where  most 
old  grizzlies  come  to  an  end,  or  what  becomes  of 
their  bones,  I  have  never  been  able  to  learn.  It  may 
be  that  many  of  them  die  in  the  winter  dens,  which 
cave  in  and  bury  the  remains.  In  closing  his  adven- 
turous career  the  grizzly  appears  to  conceal  the 
trail  to  his  last  resting-place. 


A    «* 


GLANCING  across  a  beaver  pond  one  day,  I 
saw  a  big,  grayish  grizzly  bear  walk  out  into 
the  grassy  opening.  My  presence  was  not  sus- 
pected, and  I  at  once  focused  my  field-glasses  upon 
him.  Here  and  there  he  went.  As  a  grasshopper 
leaped  into  the  air,  the  bear  —  big,  fat,  awkward, 
lumbering  fellow  that  he  was  —  leaped  into  the  air 
after  it.  Striking  the  grasshopper  with  a  fore  paw,  he 
would  knock  it  to  the  ground  and  then  pick  it  up 
with  his  teeth.  Occasionally  he  advanced  on  all 
fours  and  slapped  his  paw  upon  the  grasshopper 
before  it  leaped  into  the  air.  Once  two  grasshoppers 
flew  up  at  the  same  instant.  The  bear  stood  still, 
located  the  spot  where  each  had  alighted,  and  then 
paid  his  respects  to  them  in  turn. 

About  this  time  another  bear  came  into  the 
opening  within  a  hundred  feet  of  the  scene  of  ac- 
tivity. He  was  dark-gray,  almost  black,  in  color, 
but  he  too  was  a  grizzly.  After  smelling  here  and 
there,  the  second  bear  dug  out  something ;  I  think 
it  must  have  been  a  nestful  of  mice.  A  minute  later 
63 


in  the  edge  of  the  tall  grass  he  found  a  bumblebee's 
nest.  This  he  ate  in  its  entirety.  Apparently  two  or 
three  of  the  bees  escaped,  to  judge  from  the  bear's 
rapid  defense  of  his  nose.  Occasionally,  as  he 
walked  about,  he  ate  a  huge  mouthful  of  grass, 
taking  three  or  four  bites  at  a  time. 

Neither  of  these  bears  paid  the  slightest  atten- 
tion to  the  other.  Though  each  must  have  known, 
from  both  scent  and  sight,  that  the  other  was  near, 
they  very  successfully  appeared  to  be  oblivious  of 
the  fact.  A  beaver  pond  is  often  a  neutral  feeding 
and  swimming  place. 

"As  hungry  as  a  bear  "  is  an  expression  of  variable 
meaning.  About  one  third  of  the  year  a  bear  has  an 
omnivorous  appetite;  for  another  four  months  he 
lives  on  short  rations;  and  during  the  remainder  of 
the  year  he  goes  on  a  food  strike  and  hibernates. 

A  bear  spends  most  of  his  waking  hours  making 
a  living.  He  has  simply  a  devastating  appetite,  and 
as  his  taste  runs  to  small  stuff  and  dainties,  he  is 
kept  on  the  move. 

If  he  denned  high  up  the  mountain-side  his  sur- 
roundings are  likely  to  be  mostly  snow-covered 
when  he  comes  forth  in  the  spring.  Under  such 
conditions  he  travels  miles  down  the  mountains  to 
64 


feed  on  the  early  plants  already  started  on  the  low- 
lands. He  may  then  slowly  follow  spring  and  sum- 
mer in  their  steady  advance  up  the  far-reaching 
slopes.  To  a  certain  extent  his  movements  are  de- 
termined by  the  calendar.  He  feeds  upon  the  best 
the  season  affords.  He  knows  when  each  article  of 
diet  is  in  season  and  where  in  his  home  territory,  or 
out  of  it,  this  abounds.  In  berry  time  look  for  a 
bear  in  a  berry-patch.  Like  an  enthusiastic  fisher- 
man he  impatiently  waits  for  the  open  season  — 
spawning-time  —  and  is  on  hand  early  to  start 
fishing. 

Perhaps  it  would  be  well  if  we  could  think  of  the 
grizzly  as  being  largely  vegetarian.  He  digs  up 
roots;  feeds  on  weeds,  tender  shoots  of  shrubbery, 
fungi,  mushrooms,  berries,  seeds,  rose-hips,  pine- 
nuts,  and  acorns;  and  also  eats  bark  like  a  rabbit 
and  grass  like  a  grass-eater. 

The  aspens  were  in  bloom,  laden  with  swollen 
buds  and  juicy  catkins.  Many  birds  were  feasting 
on  the  catkins;  and,  looking  over  into  a  near-by 
aspen  thicket,  I  saw  a  grizzly  on  a  ledge  also  feed- 
ing eagerly.  Reaching  for  a  limb,  first  with  one  fore 
paw  and  then  the  other,  he  bit  off  a  few  inches  and 
ate  twigs,  bark,  and  bloom.  Occasionally  he  seized 
65 


the  top  of  an  aspen  with  both  paws,  bent  it  down, 
and  bit  it  off.  It  was  similar  to  the  fashion  followed 
in  eating  wild  plums  and  choke-cherries.  A  bear  will 
reach  up  and  pull  down  the  top  of  a  plum  tree,  and, 
biting  it  off,  eat  the  small  limbs,  the  bark,  the 
leaves,  and  the  fruit.  A  grizzly  browsing  in  a  wild 
raspberry-patch  will  bite  off  the  tops  of  the  vines 
together  with  the  berries,  the  leaves,  and  the 
thorns.  Sometimes  the  twigs  and  terminal  buds  of 
the  pine,  the  fir,  and  the  spruce  are  eaten. 

One  day  I  saw  a  grizzly  approaching  in  a  manner 
which  indicated  that  he  knew  exactly  where  he 
was  going.  On  arriving  at  an  alder  clump  by  the 
brook  he  at  once  began  tearing  off  the  bark  and 
eating  it.  On  another  occasion  I  watched  a  bear 
strip  nearly  all  the  bark  within  reach  from  a  young 
balsam  fir.  I  have  often  seen  places  where  bears 
had  bitten  and  torn  chunks  of  bark  from  aspens 
and  cottonwoods.  Though  they  also  tear  the  bark 
from  pine  and  spruce  trees,  I  do  not  believe  that 
this  is  eaten  as  frequently  as  the  bark  of  the  broad- 
leaved  trees. 

During  the  first  few  weeks  after  coming  out  of 
the  winter  den  much  of  the  grizzly's  food  is  likely 
to  be  of  the  salad  order  —  juicy  young  plant  stalks, 
66 


a  Qgkar 


watery  shoots,  tender  bark,  young  grasses,  buds, 
and  leaves.  In  late  autumn,  just  before  hibernat- 
ing, his  last  courses  are  mostly  roots  and  nuts. 

However,  the  normal  grizzly  is  an  omnivorous 
feeder,  refusing  only  human  flesh.  He  will  eat  any- 
thing that  is  edible  —  meat  (fresh,  stale,  or  car- 
rion), wasps,  yellow-  jackets,  grasshoppers,  ants 
and  their  eggs,  bugs,  and  grubs.  Of  course  he  eats 
honey  and  the  bees.  He  also  captures  snakes,  and 
many  a  rat  and  rabbit.  He  is  a  destroyer  of  many 
pests  that  afflict  man,  and  in  the  realm  of  economic 
biology  he  should  be  rated  high.  I  doubt  if  a  dozen 
cats,  hawks,  or  owls  annually  catch  as  many  mice 
as  the  average  grizzly. 

The  food  of  a  grizzly  is  largely  determined  by 
locality.  Along  the  streams  of  the  northern  Pacific 
Coast  he  lives  chiefly  upon  fish,  while  the  grizzlies 
in  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains  and  British  Colum- 
bia generally  feed  upon  roots  and  plants.  Those  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains  of  Colorado  and  the  South- 
west have  a  mixed  diet. 

The  spring-beauty,  the  dog-tooth  violet,  and  the 

shooting-star,   both  tops  and  roots,  supply  the 

grizzlies  of  some  localities  with  much  of  their  food, 

while  in  other  regions  they  rarely,  and  possibly 

67 


never,  touch  them,  though  they  grow  abundantly. 
The  bears  in  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains  eat  the 
shooting-star  freely,  while  the  violet  and  the  spring- 
beauty  are  favored  by  the  bears  of  the  Selkirks. 
Yet,  strange  though  it  is,  the  bears  of  both  locali- 
ties pay  but  little  attention  to  carcasses  which  they 
find.  One  of  the  plant  roots  which  the  bears  of 
British  Columbia  dig  out  in  autumn  until  the 
ground  is  frozen,  is  a  wild  pea,  the  hedysarum. 

I  frequently  followed  a  grizzly  whose  home  terri- 
tory was  close  to  my  cabin  in  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. Apparently  he  liked  everything.  One  day  he 
spent  hours  digging  out  mice.  On  another  he  caught 
a  rabbit.  He  ate  a  bumblebee's  nest,  and,  with  the 
nest,  the  grass,  the  bees,  their  young,  their  honey, 
and  their  stings.  In  a  homesteader's  garden  he  dug 
out  and  ate  nearly  one  hundred  pounds  of  potatoes 
and  turnips.  The  homesteader  thought  that  a  hog 
had  been  in  his  garden.  In  places  I  too  have 
thought  that  hogs  had  been  rooting  where  bears 
had  simply  been  digging  for  roots  —  places  with 
dug  and  upturned  earth  often  many  square  yards 
in  extent.  They  dig  out  the  roots  of  the  wild  pars- 
nip, the  shooting-star,  and  grass,  the  bulbs  of  lilies, 
and  sometimes  the  roots  of  willow  and  alder. 
68 


(Wlafiing  a 


I  endeavored  to  find  out  the  kind  of  food  pre- 
ferred by  two  young  bears  that  I  raised.  A  number 
of  times  I  approached  them  with  a  plate  upon 
which  were  cake,  meat,  and  honey.  In  my  pockets 
I  generally  had  also  either  turnips  or  apples.  When 
I  appeared  the  bears  usually  stood  on  hind  legs  to 
see  what  I  had.  If  they  caught  the  scent  of  apples  or 
turnips,  they  thrust  paws  or  noses  into  my  pock- 
ets, ignoring  the  dainties  on  the  plate.  Otherwise 
they  grabbed  whatever  happened  to  be  nearest 
them  on  the  plate. 

All  grizzlies  appear  to  be  fond  of  fish.  In  many 
places  they  are  most  successful  fishermen.  I 
watched  a  grizzly  standing  in  the  riffles  of  an  Idaho 
stream,  partly  concealed  by  a  willow  clump.  In 
half  an  hour  he  knocked  five  large  salmon  ashore. 
With  a  single  lightning-like  stroke  of  a  fore  paw, 
the  fish  was  flung  out  of  the  water  and  sent  flying 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet.  Rarely  did  he  miss.  Each  of 
the  salmon  weighed  several  pounds. 

A  grizzly  in  the  Sawtooth  region,  trying  to  catch 
some  fish,  sprawled  out  on  a  low  bank  by  the  edge 
of  a  stream.  Holding  himself  with  one  fore  paw,  he 
reached  over  with  the  other  and  felt  along  the 
bank  beneath  the  water.  He  did  this  very  much  as 
69 


a  fat  man  might.  More  frequently  the  bear  makes  a 
stand  in  driftwood  on  the  bank,  or  on  a  log  that  has 
fallen  into  the  stream,  or  behind  a  willow  clump. 
Sometimes  he  captures  fish  by  wading  up  a  brook 
and  seizing  with  claws  or  teeth  those  that  conceal 
themselves  beneath  banks  and  projecting  roots. 

A  huge  brown  grizzly  mother  catching  trout  for 
her  two  fat  cubs  held  my  attention  one  day.  The 
cubs  waited  on  the  grassy  bank  of  a  brook  while 
the  mother  brought  them  trout 'after  trout.  She 
sometimes  caught  the  fish  by  thrusting  her  nose 
into  the  water  beneath  the  bank  or  by  reaching  in 
with  her  paws.  Occasionally  she  knocked  them  out 
of  the  water  as  they  endeavored  to  dash  past  her  in 
the  riffles.  The  cubs  watched  her  every  move;  but 
they  were  not  allowed  to  enter  the  water. 

Sometimes  the  grizzly  will  collect  and  cover  over 
an  excess  of  carcasses  or  fish.  By  a  little  mountain 
lake  at  the  headwaters  of  the  Columbia  I  found 
a  pile  of  stale  salmon  beneath  a  number  of  large 
logs  and  stones.  The  fish  had  been  caught  during 
spawning-time  and  stored  for  future  consump- 
tion. A  day  or  two  later  I  returned,  and  tracks 
showed  that  the  bear  had  come  back  and  consumed 
the  salmon. 

70 


(ttla8in<5  a  Q&ar 


The  grizzly  eagerly  earns  his  own  living;  he  is 
not  a  loafer.  Much  work  is  done  in  digging  out  a 
cony,  a  woodchuck,  or  some  other  small  animal 
from  a  rock-slide.  In  two  hours'  time  I  have  known 
him  to  move  a  mass  of  earth  that  must  have 
weighed  tons,  leaving  an  excavation  large  enough 
for  a  private  cellar.  I  have  come  upon  numbers  of 
holes  from  which  a  grizzly  had  removed  literally 
tons  of  stone.  In  places  these  holes  were  five  or  six 
feet  deep.  Around  the  edges  the  stones  were  piled 
as  though  for  a  barricade.  In  some  of  them  several 
soldiers  could  have  found  room  and  excellent  shel- 
ter for  ordinary  defense. 

When  a  large  stone  is  encountered  in  his  digging 
the  grizzly  grabs  it  with  both  fore  paws,  shakes 
and  tears  it  loose  from  the  earth,  and  hurls  it  aside. 
I  have  seen  him  toss  huge  stones  over  his  shoulder 
and  throw  larger  ones  forward  with  one  paw.  Griz- 
zlies show  both  skill  and  thought  in  nearly  every- 
thing they  do.  They  have  strength,  alert  wits,  and 
clever  paws,  and  commonly  work  at  high  speed. 
Yet  they  appear  deliberate  in  their  actions  and 
work  in  a  painstaking,  careful  manner. 

A  grizzly  I  followed  one  day  paused  in  a  grassy 
space  to  dig  out  mice.  In  reaching  them  he  discov- 
71 


ered  a  chipmunk's  burrow.  By  the  time  he  had 
secured  all  the  mice  and  chipmunks  he  had  torn  up 
several  square  yards  of  sod.  The  place  had  the  ap- 
pearance of  having  been  rooted  up  by  hogs.  In  this 
fresh  earth  the  surrounding  trees  sowed  trium- 
phant seeds,  and  here  a  cluster  of  spruces  grew 
where  grass  had  long  held  sway. 

A  grizzly  seems  never  too  busy  or  too  hungry  to 
stop  and  look  around.  "Safety  First"  appears  to  be 
more  on  his  mind  than  eating.  I  have  seen  a  grizzly 
pause  from  his  earth-digging  after  roots  to  stop, 
look,  and  listen,  and  I  have  watched  one  stop  his 
more  than  eager  digging  after  marmots  to  scent  the 
air  in  his  scout  for  an  enemy.  And  then  again  I 
have  repeatedly  seen  him  look  up  from  his  feast 
of  smelly  sirloin  to  make  certain  that  he  was  not 
surprised  by  man. 

While  I  was  watching  a  flock  of  mountain  sheep 
feeding  down  a  slope  just  above  the  timber-line,  a 
grizzly  appeared  on  the  scene.  He  came  slowly  up- 
ward from  the  woods.  Unless  the  sheep  or  the  bear 
changed  course  there  must  be  a  meeting.  But  the 
sheep  continued  to  feed  downward  and  the  grizzly 
to  walk  up.  Suddenly  the  bear  stopped  and  began 
digging  —  digging  evidently  for  a  chipmunk.  A 
72 


a      ar 

stream  of  earth  was  sent  flying  behind  him.  Oc- 
casionally, too,  a  huge  stone  was  sent  hurtling 
back.  This  activity  roused  the  curiosity  of  the 
sheep,  and  they  approached  within  perhaps  ten  or 
twelve  feet.  They  were  lined  up  and  eagerly  watch- 
ing the  grizzly  when  he  became  aware  of  their 
presence.  Disliking  their  close  approach,  he  leaped 
at  them  with  a  terrific  "Woof!"  The  sheep  scat- 
tered wildly  but  ran  only  a  few  yards.  Again  unit- 
ing, they  fed  quietly  away,  and  the  grizzly  re- 
turned to  his  digging. 

In  only  exceptional  cases  has  the  grizzly  been  a 
killer  of  big  game.  In  his  search  for  food  he  digs  out 
small  mammals  and  kills  rabbits  and  beaver.  He 
is  not  likely  to  attempt  anything  as  large  as  wild 
sheep,  but  when  a  grizzly  forms  the  habit  of  killing 
big  animals  he  is  likely  to  make  this  serve  as  his 
entire  food-supply.  Thus  a  cattle-killing  grizzly  is 
likely  to  give  his  chief  attention  to  the  killing  of 
cattle,  or  incidentally  to  that  of  sheep,  deer,  or  elk. 
In  the  days  of  the  buffalo  the  great  herds  fre- 
quently were  trailed  by  one  or  more  grizzlies. 
These,  however,  probably  obtained  most  of  their 
meat  from  carcasses  left  behind  by  storms,  drown- 
ing, or  other  means  of  death. 
73 


The  misfortunes  of  other  animals  often  provide  a 
feast  for  the  grizzly.  In  going  over  an  area  just 
swept  by  a  forest  fire  I  saw  two  grizzlies  feasting, 
and  there  were  feasts  for  numerous  others.  One 
was  wading  in  an  abandoned  beaver  pond  and  feast- 
ing on  the  dead  trout  that  floated  on  the  surface. 
Two  black  bears,  despite  terrible  threats  from  the 
grizzly,  claimed  all  the  fish  that  came  within  reach 
of  the  shore,  but  discreetly  kept  out  of  the  pond. 
During  the  second  day's  exploration  of  the  burn  a 
bear  came  upon  me  while  I  was  eating  from  a  fire- 
killed,  roasted  deer.  When  I  moved  on,  the  wait- 
ing grizzly  walked  up  to  dine. 

A  grizzly  knows  the  location  of  every  beaver 
pond  in  his  territory.  It  is  one  of  his  favorite  loafing 
and  feeding  places.  Often  he  rolls  and  swims  about 
in  the  water,  enjoying  himself  immensely.  Here  he 
sometimes  finds  a  stale  fish  or  a  dead  bird  brought 
down  by  the  stream.  Sometimes  he  eats  a  huge 
salad  of  pond-lilies. 

But  when  beaver  are  gathering  the  harvest,  es- 
pecially if  it  is  gathered  at  some  distance  from  the 
water,  he  lies  in  wait  and  overhauls  them.  He  is 
ready,  too,  to  seize  upon  any  of  these  unfortunate 
fellows  who  is  accidentally  killed  or  injured  in 
74 


Qftafiing  a  Qgfear 


gnawing  down  a  tree.  Many  a  time  I  have  seen  the 
fresh  tracks  of  a  mother  and  her  cubs  on  the  muddy 
shore  of  a  beaver  pond,  and  sometimes  the  tracks 
of  both  black  bears  and  grizzlies. 

In  the  course  of  miles  of  daily  wandering  the 
grizzly  may  occasionally  come  upon  a  wounded 
animal  or  a  carcass.  If  his  find  be  large,  he  may  lie 
close  until  it  is  consumed  ;  or  he  may  make  a  cache 
of  it,  returning  again  and  again  until  it  is  eaten. 
Grizzlies  will  bury  an  elk  in  the  earth  or  cover  the 
carcass  of  a  cow  with  numbers  of  logs.  Nothing  is 
more  common  than  for  them  to  cover  a  carcass 
with  refuse  consisting  of  twigs,  fallen  leaves,  grass, 
and  trash.  They  will  cover  a  quantity  of  fish  with 
stones  and  logs. 

A  few  grizzlies  become  cattle-killers;  many  griz- 
zlies eat  cattle  they  did  not  kill.  On  the  live-stock 
ranges  in  the  mountains  of  the  West  cattle  die  from 
many  causes.  They  succumb  to  disease  and  to  ac- 
cidents. Winds  proclaim  carcass  news  and  a  feast 
to  flesh-eaters  near  and  far.  Bears  have  amazingly 
keen  noses  and  often  are  the  first  to  enjoy  the 
feast. 

A  grizzly  I  was  following  caught  the  scent  of  a  car- 
cass that  was  more  than  a  mile  away.  He  stopped 

75 


and  sniffed,  then  changed  his  course  and  set  off  for 
the  carcass.  The  carcass  was  being  watched.  As 
the  grizzly  was  the  first  animal  to  arrive  after  the 
kill,  the  owner  of  the  cow  concluded  that  he  was 
guilty  of  the  killing,  and  accordingly  proceeded  to 
kill  him  and  to  condemn  all  bears  as  cattle-killers. 
Yet  this  cow  had  died  from  feeding  too  freely  upon 
poisonous  larkspur. 

I  was  once  trailing  a  grizzly  through  the  snow, 
when  he  came  upon  the  trail  of  a  mountain  lion, 
which  he  followed.  Farther  along  the  lion  killed  a 
horse.  When  the  grizzly  came  upon  the  scene,  he 
drove  the  lion  off.  The  following  day,  while  having 
a  second  feast  off  the  horse,  he  was  discovered  by 
a  rancher,  who  at  once  procured  dogs  and  pursued 
and  killed  the  "famous  horse-killing  grizzly." 

I  have  not  heard  of  an  authentic  instance  of  a 
grizzly's  eating  human  flesh.  Numbers  of  hunters 
have  been  killed  by  grizzlies,  but  their  bodies  were 
not  eaten;  they  were  not  killed  for  food.  Many  per- 
sons have  lost  their  lives  from  storms,  accidents, 
and  starvation;  yet  their  bodies  have  lain  for  days 
and  weeks  in  territory  frequented  by  grizzlies 
without  being  eaten  by  them.  A  prospector,  his 
horse,  and  his  burro  were  killed  by  a  falling  tree. 
76 


Q0ear 


Grizzlies  devoured  the  bodies  of  the  animals,  but 
that  of  the  prospector  was  not  disturbed.  Human 
flesh  appears  to  be  the  only  thing  a  grizzly  does 
not  eat. 


jSotwj  TE 


WHEN  the  food  of  the  grizzly  bear  becomes 
scarce,  he  goes  to  bed  and  sleeps  until  a 
reasonable  supply  is  available,  even  though  he 
waits  five  months  for  it.  He  feasts  on  the  fullness  of 
the  land  during  the  summer  and  wraps  himself  in  a 
thick  blanket  of  fat.  When  winter  comes  on,  he  digs 
a  hole  and  crawls  in.  This  layer  of  fat  is  a  non-con- 
ductor of  cold  and  in  due  time  is  drawn  on  for  food. 
One  autumn  day  I  visited  the  Hallett  Glacier 
with  a  professor  from  the  University  of  Chicago. 
After  exploring  one  of  the  upper  crevasses,  we 
stood  looking  down  the  steep  slope  of  the  glacier. 
New  snow  had  fallen  a  few  days  before,  and  a  soft, 
slushy  coating  still  overlaid  the  ice.  The  professor 
challenged  me  to  coast  down  the  steep,  snow-lubri- 
cated ice-slope.  We  seated  ourselves  on  this  soft, 
slippery  snow,  and  he  gave  the  word  "Go."  Just  as 
we  slid  away,  we  saw  at  the  bottom  of  the  slope, 
where  we  were  soon  to  be,  a  huge  grizzly  bear.  I 
wish  you  might  have  seen  our  efforts  as  we  tried  to 
change  our  minds  on  that  steep  slope!  The  grizzly 
8l 


was  busily  eating  grasshoppers,  but  he  heard  us 
coming  and  fled  at  a  racing  gallop,  giving  an  ex- 
cellent exhibition  of  his  clumsy  hind  legs  reaching 
out  flat-footed. 

Each  autumn  numbers  of  insects  and  sometimes 
bushels  of  grasshoppers  either  are  blown  upon  the 
ice  and  snow  or  else  approach  it  too  closely  and  fall 
from  having  their  wings  chilled.  Evidently  the 
grizzlies  long  ago  learned  of  this  food-supply,  for 
the  ice-fields  are  regularly  visited  by  them  during 
the  autumn.  Along  the  timber-line  the  grizzly  feeds 
freely  upon  the  last  of  autumn's  berries  and  the 
last  green  plants.  Many  a  grizzly  goes  to  the 
heights  to  put  on  fat  for  his  long  winter's  sleep. 

Bear  food  becomes  scarce  as  winter  approaches. 
Fruit,  berries,  grass,  and  weeds  are  out  of  season; 
most  birds  and  insects  are  gone.  The  bear  feeds  on 
what  remains  —  small  animals  which  he  digs  out, 
a  stray  .stranded  fish,  now  and  then  a  dead  bird  or 
animal  carcass,  the  red  fruit  of  the  rose,  and  the 
nuts,  bark,  and  roots  of  trees  and  plants.  I  do  not 
believe  the  grizzly  eats  a  special  or  a  purgative 
food  during  the  few  days  preceding  his  denning  up, 
although  he  may  do  so. 

On  the  few  occasions  when  I  have  been  able  to 
82 


keep  track  of  a  bear  during  the  four  or  five  days 
immediately  preceding  his  retirement,  he  did  not 
eat  a  single  thing.  I  have  examined  a  number  of 
grizzlies  that  were  killed  while  hibernating,  and  in 
every  instance  the  stomach  and  intestines  were 
empty.  These  facts  lead  me  to  conclude  that  bears 
rest  and  fast  for  a  few  days  before  going  perma- 
nently to  the  winter  den. 

The  bear  generally  prepares  his  winter  quarters 
in  advance  of  the  time  needed.  He  may  occasion- 
ally sleep  in  his  den  before  taking  possession  of  it 
for  the  winter.  But  this  is  exceptional.  In  two  cases 
that  I  know  of  he  lay  outside  the  den,  though  near 
it;  and  a  number  of  other  times  he  kept  away  from 
the  den  until  he  entered  it  for  the  long  sleep.  After 
the  den  is  completely  ready,  the  grizzly  continues 
his  usual  search  for  food.  Generally  this  requires 
long  excursions  and  he  may  wander  miles  from  the 
den. 

In  climbing  along  the  bottom  of  a  deep,  narrow 
ravine  one  November  day,  I  saw  on  the  slope  above 
me  what  appeared  to  be  a  carload  or  more  of 
freshly  dumped  earth.  My  first  thought  was  that  a 
prospector  was  at  work  driving  a  tunnel ;  but  upon 
examination  it  proved  to  be  a  recently  finished  but 
83 


not  yet  occupied  hibernating-den.  The  entrance 
was  about  three  feet  in  diameter.  Just  inside  the 
den  was  a  trifle  larger.  It  extended,  nearly  level, 
about  twelve  feet  into  the  mountain-side.  At  the 
back  it  was  six  feet  across  and  four  feet  high. 

The  size  of  the  den  varies  and  is  apparently  de- 
termined by  the  character  of  the  soil  in  which  it  is 
made  and  also  by  the  inclination  of  the  bear  mak- 
ing it.  Most  other  dens  measured  were  smaller  than 
this  one. 

The  grizzly  may  use  the  same  den  for  several 
winters  or  have  a  new  one  each  year.  He  may  dig 
the  den  himself  or  take  an  old  one  that  some  other 
bear  has  used,  or  he  may  make  use  of  one  shaped 
by  Nature  —  a  cave  or  a  rock-slide.  I  knew  of  one 
grizzly  hibernating  in  a  prospector's  abandoned 
tunnel.  Sometimes,  like  the  black  bear,  he  will  dig 
a  den  on  a  steep  mountain-side  beneath  the  widely 
spreading  roots  of  trees;  sometimes  beneath  a 
large  fallen  log,  close  to  the  upturned  roots  which 
support  it.  In  crossing  the  mountains  one  Febru- 
ary I  noticed  a  steamy  vapor  rising  from  a  hole  in 
the  snow  by  the  protruding  roots  of  an  overturned 
tree.  I  walked  to  the  hole  to  investigate.  The  vapor 
was  rank  with  the  odor  of  a  bear.  Near  my  home  on 
84 


Bon 

the  slope  of  Long's  Peak  I  have  known  grizzlies  to 
den  up  beneath  the  snow-crushed,  matted  tree- 
growths  at  the  timber-line,  at  an  altitude  of  about 
eleven  thousand  feet. 

Twice  I  have  known  bears  to  hibernate  in 
enormous  nests  that  were  made  of  the  long  fibres 
of  cedar  bark.  It  must  have  taken  days  to  con- 
struct one  of  these  nests,  as  more  than  forty  cedar 
trees  had  been  more  or  less  disrobed  to  supply  ma- 
terial for  it.  It  resembled  the  nests  of  trash  that 
razor-back  hogs  in  the  South  construct,  though 
much  larger.  The  bear,  after  piling  it  up,  worked 
his  way  in  near  the  bottom,  somewhat  after  the 
fashion  of  a  boy  crawling  into  a  haycock.  Over  this 
hibernating-nest  the  snow  spread  its  blanket  and 
probably  afforded  all  the  protection  needed. 

Sometimes  the  entrance  to  a  den  is  partly  closed 
by  the  occupant.  Once  in,  he  reaches  out  and  claws 
the  lower  part  full  of  earth,  or  rakes  in  trash  and 
leaves.  In  most  instances  nothing  is  done  to  close 
the  entrance.  The  snows  drift  back  into  the  den, 
pile  upward,  and  at  last  close  the  entrance  most 
effectually. 

All  the  dens  that  I  recall  were  upon  northerly  or 
easterly  —  the  cooler  —  slopes.  The  snow  as  it  fell 
85 


would  be  likely  to  remain  and  close  or  blanket  the 
entrance  all  winter  long.  Snow  evidently  enters 
into  the  grizzly's  winter  plans. 

Late  one  cold,  snowless  December  I  came  upon  a 
grizzly  carrying  spruce  boughs  into  his  den.  Evi- 
dently he  had  used  the  den  and  found  it  cold.  The 
den  had  a  large  opening;  this  he  may  have  been  in- 
tending to  close.  The  rocky  floor  was  already  piled 
a  foot  deep  with  boughs.  I  have  seen  two  other 
dens  with  floor-coverings;  one  of  these  was  of  pine 
twigs,  and  the  other  of  coarse  grass  and  kinni- 
kinnick.  But  in  most  cases  the  bear  sleeps  upon 
the  uncovered  rocks  or  the  naked  earth. 

Snow  is  a  factor  in  determining  when  a  bear  be- 
gins his  winter  sleep.  If  he  is  fat  and  food  is  scarce, 
an  early,  heavy  snow  is  pretty  certain  to  cause  him 
to  turn  hi  early.  If  no  snow  comes  and  food  is  still 
to  be  had,  the  bear  is  likely  to  delay  his  hiberna- 
tion. 

The  individual  inclination  of  the  bear  and  his 
condition  —  whether  fat  or  thin  —  are  also  factors 
which  influence  his  time  of  retiring.  I  knew  of  two 
bears,  apparently  of  similar  condition,  one  of  whom 
turned  in  three  weeks  earlier  than  the  other.  Two 
bears  whom  I  noticed  one  winter  ran  about  more 
86 


£01*5  Tfcinfcr 

than  a  month  after  all  the  other  bears  had  disap- 
peared. Both  were  thin  —  just  why  I  should  like  to 
know.  They  also  turned  in  shortly  after  they  be- 
came rounded  out.  Generally  bears  of  a  locality 
turn  in  for  winter  at  about  the  same  time.  Hiber- 
nating may  begin  early  in  November,  but  in  most 
localities,  and  in  most  years,  the  time  is  likely  to 
be  a  month  later. 

In  Alaska  and  the  Northwest  many  bears  hiber- 
nate in  the  heights  above  the  timber-line.  I  have 
found  a  number  in  the  mountains  of  Colorado  with 
winter  quarters  at  an  altitude  of  twelve  thousand 
feet.  In  southern  Colorado  and  in  the  Yellowstone 
Park  region  many  have  denned  up  at  about  the 
altitude  of  six  thousand  feet.  But  a  grizzly  may 
hibernate  anywhere  in  his  territory  where  he  can 
find  or  make  a  den  to  his  liking. 

Except  when  there  are  cubs,  a  grizzly  dens  alone. 
Accounts  which  tell  of  a  number  of  full-grown 
grizzlies  spending  the  winter  in  one  den  lack  verifi- 
cation. The  cubs  are  born  in  the  hibernating-den, 
and  they  den  up  with  the  mother  the  first,  and 
sometimes  the  second,  winter  after  their  birth. 
The  cubs  generally  den  up  together  the  first  winter 
after  they  are  weaned. 

87 


Once  in  for  the  winter,  the  bear  is  likely  to  stay 
in  the  den  for  weeks.  Most  of  the  time  probably  is 
spent  sleeping,  and,  so  far  as  known,  without  either 
food  or  water.  A  bear  may  be  routed  out  of  his  win- 
ter quarters  without  difficulty.  Generally  his  sleep 
is  not  heavy  enough  greatly  to  deaden  his  senses. 
Hunters,  trappers,  floods,  and  snow-slides  have 
driven  grizzlies  from  their  dens  during  every  stage 
of  hibernation,  and  in  each  case  a  moment  after 
the  bear  came  forth  his  senses  were  as  alert  as 
ever;  he  was  able  either  to  run  away  or  to  fight  in 
his  normal  manner. 

Prospectors  in  Jefferson  Valley,  Montana,  told 
me  of  staking  claims  and  starting  to  drive  a  tunnel 
early  one  December.  A  day  or  two  after  they  be- 
gan blasting  they  saw  a  bear  break  out  of  a  snowy 
den  and  scamper  away  on  the  mountain-side.  They 
tracked  him  to  the  place  where  he  had  holed  up 
again.  It  was  their  belief  that  the  noise  or  the  jar 
of  their  shots  had  awakened  and  re-awakened  the 
bear,  until,  disgusted,  he  left  the  region  for  a 
quieter  sleeping-place. 

A  sniffling  and  grunting  attracted  my  attention 
one  midwinter  day  as  I  was  snowshoeing  along  the 
side  of  a  ravine.  Presently,  a  short  distance  ahead 
88 


Bong  TtKnfet 


of  me,  I  saw  a  grizzly's  nose  thrust  out  of  a  hole  in 
the  snowy  slope.  Then  his  head  followed.  Sleepily 
the  grizzly  half-opened  his  eyes,  then  closed  them 
again.  His  shaking  and  drooping  head  fell  lower  and 
lower,  until  with  a  jerk  he  raised  it  only  to  let  it 
droop  again.  He  repeated  this  performance  a  num- 
ber of  times.  Evidently  it  was  the  head  of  a  very 
sleepy  grizzly.  Occasionally  he  opened  his  eyes  for 
a  moment,  but  he  did  not  seem  interested  in  the 
outside  world  and  he  finally  withdrew  his  head  and 
disappeared  in  the  den. 

After  midwinter,  and  especially  towards  spring, 
a  bear  sometimes  comes  out  for  fresh  air  and  exer- 
cise, or  to  sun  himself.  One  gray  February  day, 
snowshoeing  along  the  Big  South  Poudre,  I  chanced 
to  look  across  an  opening  from  the  edge  of  the 
woods  and  saw  a  grizzly  walking  round  and  round 
in  a  well-beaten  pathway  in  the  snow.  Occasionally 
he  reared  up,  faced  about,  and  walked  round  in  the 
opposite  direction.  His  den  was  near  by.  Half  a 
mile  farther  on  I  came  upon  a  bear  trail  near  the 
entrance  to  another  den.  Here  the  bear  had  walked 
back  and  forth  in  a  pathway  that  was  about  sixty 
feet  long.  It  was  beaten  down  in  the  snow  to  a 
depth  of  fifteen  inches.  Two  places  showed  that 
.89 


the  bear  had  rolled  and  wallowed  about  in  the 
snow. 

Elsewhere,  another  year,  about  the  middle  of 
March,  I  examined  much-worn  pathways  near  a 
grizzly's  den.  These  had  been  made  at  least  three 
weeks  before  and  had  been  used  a  number  of  times. 
One  pathway  led  to  the  base  of  a  cliff  that  faced 
the  east,  where  the  bear  had  probably  lain  in  the 
morning  sun.  Another  led  to  a  much-used  spot 
that  caught  the  afternoon  sun. 

Perhaps  a  bear  sometimes  becomes  tired  or  rest- 
less during  his  long  winter  sleep.  Now  and  then  he 
comes  forth  in  spring  with  the  fur  worn  off  his 
hips,  back,  or  shoulders.  He  may  kill  time,  when 
through  sleeping,  with  a  short  excursion  outside  the 
den.  If  the  den  is  large,  he  sometimes  tramples 
about  like  a  caged  animal. 

Climatic  conditions,  the  altitude  at  which  the  bear 
hibernated,  and  other  factors  determine  the  time 
when  grizzlies  leave  their  dens.  Most  of  them  come 
forth  during  March,  but  stragglers  may  not  appear 
until  late  in  April.  Mothers  with  cubs  remain  in 
the  den  a  few  weeks  longer  than  bears  without  cubs. 

At  the  limits  of  tree  growth,  one  cold  March  day, 
I  came  upon  the  tracks  of  a  grizzly  bear  descend- 
90 


ing  the  mountain.  I  back-tracked  them  and  found 
the  den  in  which  the  grizzly  had  spent  the  winter. 
The  inside  of  the  den  was  gravelly  and  compara- 
tively clean.  Only  this  single  line  of  tracks  led  from 
the  den,  though  the  weather  had  been  clear  for  a 
week;  so  I  judged  this  was  the  first  time  the  griz- 
zly had  sauntered  forth.  It  was  just  sundown  when 
I  reached  the  den.  The  heights  were  icy,  and  I  hesi- 
tated about  continuing  across  the  Divide  that  night, 
so  concluded  to  occupy  the  den.  I  knew  that  bears 
often  take  a  short  ramble  in  the  spring  and  then 
return  to  the  den,  but  I  took  the  chances  of  shar- 
ing it  with  him.  I  do  not  know  what  the  grizzly 
did  that  night  —  whether  or  not  he  came  back. 
But  my  fire  in  the  mouth  of  the  den  may  have  kept 
him  at  bay. 

The  hard,  cracked  skin  on  the  soles  of  the  griz- 
zly's feet  is  shed  during  hibernation,  and  the  feet 
in  spring  are  soft  and  tender.  For  several  days  he 
avoids  traveling  over  rough  places.  His  claws  grow 
out  during  the  winter  rest,  also.  When  he  goes  to 
sleep  they  are  worn,  broken,  and  blunt;  but  he 
comes  out  of  winter  quarters  with  claws  long  and 
moderately  pointed. 

What  is  the  grizzly's  condition  in  the  spring 
91 


after  months  of  fasting?  He  has  hibernated  from 
three  to  five  months,  and  in  this  time  probably  has 
taken  neither  water  nor  food.  First  of  all  he  comes 
forth  fat  and  not  in  the  least  hungry.  The  walls  of 
his  stomach  have  greatly  contracted,  almost  com- 
pletely closing  the  interior.  Two  stomachs  which  I 
saw  taken  from  grizzlies  killed  early  in  the  spring 
were  as  hard  as  chunks  of  rubber,  and  had  capacity 
for  not  more  than  two  or  three  spoonfuls.  But 
when  the  grizzly  reappears  after  his  long  winter 
sleep  he  is  as  strong  as  ever  and  can  run  for  hours 
or  fight  with  normal  effectiveness. 

He  may  not  eat  anything  for  a  few  days  after 
leaving  the  den.  For  many  days  he  eats  lightly, 
and  it  may  be  two  weeks  before  he  has  a  normal 
appetite.  His  first  food  is  likely  to  be  the  early, 
tender  shoots  of  plants  or  trees,  tuberous  roots, 
swelling  buds,  and  green  grass. 

I  once  watched  a  grizzly  for  seven  days  after  he 
emerged  from  his  hibernating- cave.  His  winter 
quarters  were  near  timber-line  on  Battle  Moun- 
tain, at  an  altitude  of  nearly  twelve  thousand  feet. 
The  winter  had  been  of  average  temperature,  but 
with  scanty  snow-fall.  I  saw  him,  by  chance,  just 
as  he  left  the  den,  on  the  first  day  of  March.  He 
92 


walked  about  aimlessly  for  an  hour  or  more,  then 
returned  to  his  sleeping-place  without  eating  or 
drinking  anything. 

The  following  day  he  wandered  about  until  af- 
ternoon before  he  broke  his  fast.  He  ate  a  mouth- 
ful of  willow  twigs  and  took  a  taste  of  water.  He 
walked  leisurely  down  the  mountain  and  towards 
sundown  made  himself  a  nest  at  the  foot  of  a  cliff 
in  the  woods.  Here  he  remained,  apparently  sleep- 
ing, until  late  the  next  afternoon.  Then,  just  before 
sundown,  he  walked  out  a  short  distance,  smelled 
of  a  number  of  things,  licked  the  snow  a  few  times, 
and  returned  to  his  nest. 

The  fourth  day  he  went  early  for  water  and  ate 
more  willow  twigs.  In  the  afternoon  he  came  upon 
a  dead  bird,  —  apparently  a  junco,  —  which  he 
ate.  After  another  drink  he  lay  down  at  the  foot  of  a 
tree  for  the  night.  The  following  morning  he  drank 
freely  of  water,  surprised  and  devoured  a  rabbit, 
and  then  lay  down.  He  slept  until  noon  the  next 
day,  then  set  out  foraging ;  he  found  a  dead  mouse 
and  toward  evening  caught  another  rabbit.  The 
seventh  day  was  much  like  the  preceding  one.  Dur- 
ing the  first  week  out  the  grizzly  did  not  eat  food 
enough  to  make  him  one  ordinary  meal. 
93 


Hibernation  is  not  well  understood.  The  habit 
probably  originated  from  the  scarcity  of  food. 
However,  in  Mexico  grizzlies  sometimes  hibernate 
even  though  the  climate  be  mild  and  food  plenti- 
ful. As  these  grizzlies  probably  came  from  the  cold 
north,  the  habit  may  have  been  fixed  in  the  species 
when  it  arrived.  Hibernation  appears  to  be  helpful 
and  not  harmful,  and  it  may  therefore  continue 
for  ages  even  though  not  required.  The  rest  which 
hibernation  gives  to  mind  and  stomach,  with  the 
entire  organism  relaxed,  may  both  increase  effi- 
ciency and  lengthen  life. 

The  polar  bear  has  its  own  peculiar  hibernating- 
habits.  The  food  of  this  bear  is  sea  food.  This  is 
available  even  in  the  winter-time,  on  or  beneath 
the  ice.  The  male  polar  bears  do  not  hibernate;  the 
females  do  not  except  when  about  to  give  birth  to 
young.  The  cubs  at  birth  are  small  and  helpless, 
and  require  the  mother's  constant  care  and  the 
shelter  of  the  den  for  some  weeks  after  birth. 

Mr.  J.  D.  Figgins  has  written  one  of  the  best 
comments  on  hibernation  that  I  have  read.  I  quote 
as  follows:  — 

"The  period  of  hibernation  in  any  mammal  not 
only  varies  in  a  given  species,  but  is  largely  influ- 
94 


Bong  TUm 


enced  by  the  available  supply  of  food  to  which  it  is 
accustomed  or  that  is  necessary  for  its  require- 
ments. 

"Examples  of  this  character  may  be  cited 
among  several  species  of  mammals.  It  is  the  cus- 
tom of  the  chipmunks,  or  'ground  squirrels,'  to 
hoard  up  at  least  a  partial  supply  of  food  in  the 
autumn  for  consumption  during  the  winter  months; 
but  this  is  rarely,  if  ever,  sufficient  to  keep  these 
interesting  little  animals  active  for  the  entire  pe- 
riod. In  most  localities,  there  is  no  available  food 
with  which  to  augment  their  scant  store  and  they 
are  never  in  evidence  from  late  October  to  April. 
In  other  locations  where  the  fruit  of  the  Crataegus, 
or  'thorn  apple,'  is  to  be  had,  they  may  be  seen 
almost  daily,  although  the  ground  may  be  covered 
with  several  feet  of  snow  and  low  temperatures 
prevail. 

"Another  example  is  the  opossum.  Ordinarily 
these  animals  are  active  throughout  the  entire 
year,  but  towards  the  northern  edge  of  their  range 
they  frequently  hibernate  for  considerable  periods 
(thirty-one  days  from  personal  observations). 

"Certain  of  the  small  rodents  can,  and  probably 
do,  hoard  sufficient  food  for  actual  need  during  the 
95 


winter  months;  but  the  problem  is  in  direct  ratio  to 
the  size  of  the  animal.  Hence  we  find  the  marmot,  a 
much  larger  animal,  making  no  provision,  although 
his  habitat  is  confined  to  the  higher  altitudes  and 
his  period  of  hibernation  is  extended  over  a  greater 
length  of  time  than  many  other  species.  His  food 
consists  wholly  of  grass  and  other  green  plants,  and 
it  is  doubtful  if  he  could  subsist  on  dry  food.  Grant- 
ing that  he  could,  the  amount  required  would  be 
prohibitive,  otherwise  he  would  make  some  effort 
in  that  direction,  as  do  the  conies,  a  much  smaller 
animal. 

"Being  omnivorous  and  of  great  size,  a  bear 
could  not  secure  or  preserve  the  necessary  amount 
of  food  to  carry  him  through  five  months.  Such 
food  could  not  consist  of  any  variety  other  than 
vegetation,  and  he  is  not  a  'hay'  eater,  and  so,  na- 
ture has  provided  him  a  means  of  surviving  the 
long  period  of  fasting  and  probably,  without  dis- 
comfort. 

"It  is  well  known  that  bears  show  a  distinct 
preference  for  fruit  during  the  late  summer  and 
autumn  months.  Not  because  that  is  the  season 
for  the  various  fruits,  but  through  a  need  of  their 
sugar  content  and  its  fattening  qualities.  Com- 
96 


posed  largely  of  juices  which  are  quickly  absorbed, 
the  digestive  process  is  very  brief  and  the  dis- 
carded residue  is  discharged  at  once.  This  may  give 
rise  to  the  belief  that  a  purgative  has  been  em- 
ployed as  a  means  of  cleansing  the  bowels  and 
explains  the  presence  of  unbroken  berries  in  the 
excrement  and  the  absence  of  offensive  odors.  As 
a  means  of  exploding  the  purgative  theory  we  need 
only  refer  to  bears  in  captivity.  Although  the  latter 
may  be  confined  to  cement  floors  and  have  no  ac- 
cess to  any  matter  whatever,  other  than  the  food 
regularly  supplied,  they  frequently  hibernate  in  a 
quite  orderly  manner. 

"It  must  be  conceded  that  bears  are  irregular  in 
the  period  of  'holing  up'  and  that  they  do  so  only 
when  food  has  become  too  scarce  to  sustain  activi- 
ties without  a  drain  upon  the  store  of  fat  they  have 
acquired;  or  during  very  severe  weather.  In  the 
mean  time  there  has  been  a  gradual  reduction  in 
food  as  the  period  of  hibernation  approaches  and  a 
consequent  lessened  activity  of  the  bowels.  Nor  is 
there  reason  for  surprise  because  of  the  absence  of 
excrement  in  the  burrow  and  the  presence  of  mat- 
ter in  the  rectum  when  the  bear  emerges  in  the 
spring. 

97 


"In  captivity  bears  may,  or  may  not,  hibernate. 
As  a  rule  they  'sleep'  for  more  or  less  varying  pe- 
riods during  severe  weather.  One  authority  states 
the  grizzly  has  been  known  to  sleep  from  sixty  to 
seventy-five  days  and  during  that  time  it  was  not 
difficult  to  awaken  him.  Black  bears  frequently 
pass  the  winter  without  evidence  of  even  drowsi- 
ness. Others  awake  at  irregular  intervals,  and  after 
feeding  lightly,  return  to  their  slumber." 

The  winter  life  of  many  animals  is  stern  and 
strange.  During  the  autumn  the  beaver  stores  up  a 
food-supply  for  use  when  the  pond  is  closed  over 
with  ice.  The  cony  harvests  hay  for  his  winter  food. 
Numbers  of  animals  hunt  food  each  day  in  the 
snow.  But  the  woodchuck  and  the  bear  hiber- 
nate, that  is,  they  fast  and  sleep  in  a  den  during  the 
winter. 


etns  (Boob  to 


Qgttag  6oob  to  (gome 

ON  the  slope  of  Long's  Peak  one  June  morn- 
ing I  came  upon  two  tiny  grizzly  bear  cubs. 
Each  was  about  the  size  of  a  cottontail  rabbit  —  a 
lively  little  ball  of  fur,  dark  gray,  almost  black,  in 
color. 

Knowing  that  their  mother  had  recently  been 
killed,  I  thought  I  would  capture  them  and  bring 
them  up  properly.  But  they  did  not  want  to  be 
brought  up  properly!  We  had  a  lively  chase,  dodg- 
ing among  the  bowlders  and  trees.  Cornering  them 
at  last  among  the  fallen  logs,  I  grabbed  one.  He  did 
the  same  to  me.  His  teeth  were  as  sharp  as  needles 
and  almost  as  sharp  were  his  lively  claws.  It  was 
some  time  before  I  could  tear  myself  loose.  He  kept 
a  mouthful  of  my  trousers.  At  last  I  deposited  the 
fighting  little  fellow  in  the  bottom  of  a  sack.  The 
other  cub  scratched  and  chewed  me  up  and  tore 
my  clothes;  but  I  forced  it  also  into  the  sack.  Two 
grizzly  bears  in  the  same  sack!  any  one  should  have 
known  better! 

I  started  to  conduct  them  personally  to  my 


cabin,  two  miles  away.  In  descending  a  steep  mo- 
raine with  the  sack  over  my  shoulder  I  slipped  and 
shook  the  sack  more  than  any  sack  should  have 
been  shaken  that  contained  two  bears.  Of  course, 
they  started  to  fight.  One  bit  through  the  sack  and 
bit  the  wrong  bear.  I  finally  reached  my  cabin  with 
a  long  pole  over  my  shoulder.  Tied  to  the  south  end 
of  the  pole  was  a  sack  full  of  grizzly  bears. 

I  shook  the  cubs  out  of  the  sack  in  front  of  a 
basin  of  milk  and  thrust  their  faces  deeply  into  it. 
Not  having  eaten  for  three  days,  they  were  "as 
hungry  as  bears"  and  needed  no  explanation  con- 
cerning the  milk.  They  had  eager,  cunning  little 
faces,  and  were  pets  before  sundown.  In  twenty- 
four  hours  Jenny  knew  that  her  name  was  Jenny, 
and  Johnny  that  his  was  Johnny.  After  a  few 
days  they  followed  me  about  with  fondness  and 
loyalty. 

These  bears  responded  to  kind  treatment  and 
were  of  cheerful  disposition.  I  made  it  a  point  never 
to  annoy  or  tease  them.  The  grizzly  bear  is  an 
exceedingly  sensitive  animal,  and  annoyances  or 
cruelty  make  him  cross.  Once  in  addressing  an 
audience  concerning  wild  life  I  made  the  statement 
that  bears  would  be  good  to  us  if  we  were  good  to 

102 


them.  A  small  boy  instantly  asked,  "What  do  you 
do  to  be  good  to  bears?"  The  health  and  the  tem- 
per of  bears,  as  well  as  of  people,  are  easily  ruined 
by  improper  food. 

Young  bear  cubs  are  the  most  wide-awake  and 
observing  little  people  that  I  know  of.  Never  have  I 
seen  a  horse  or  dog  who  understood  as  readily  or 
learned  as  rapidly  as  these  two  bears.  One  day  I 
offered  Johnny  a  saucer  of  milk.  He  was  impatient 
to  get  it.  Reaching  up,  he  succeeded  in  spilling  it, 
but  he  licked  the  saucer  with  satisfaction.  On  the 
second  try  he  spilled  only  a  part  of  the  milk.  On  the 
third  trial  he  clasped  the  saucer  deftly  in  his  two 
fore  paws,  lifted  it  upwards,  turned  his  head  back 
and  poured  the  milk  into  his  mouth. 

When  Johnny  and  Jenny  were  growing  up,  it 
seemed  as  if  nothing  unusual  escaped  them.  A 
bright  button,  a  flash  of  a  ring,  a  white  handker- 
chief, or  an  unusual  movement  or  sound  instantly 
caught  their  attention.  They  concentrated  on  each 
new  object  and  endeavored  to  find  out  what  it  was. 
Having  satisfied  their  curiosity  or  obtained  full 
information  about  it,  the  next  instant  they  were 
ready  to  concentrate  on  something  else.  But  they 
remembered  on  second  appearance  anything  which 
103 


had  especially  interested  them  at  any  time.  They 
learned  through  careful  observation. 

For  a  time  they  were  not  chained  and  had  the 
freedom  of  the  yard.  Never  have  I  seen  two  young 
animals  more  intense,  more  playful,  or  more  ener- 
getic. They  played  alone,  they  mauled  each  other 
by  the  hour,  and  occasionally  they  scrapped. 
Sometimes  we  ran  foot-races.  From  a  scratch  upon 
the  ground,  at  the  word  "go,"  we  would  race  down 
hill  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards.  They  were 
eager  for  these  races  and  always  ready  to  line  up 
with  me.  They  were  so  speedy  that  in  every  race 
they  merrily  turned  around  at  least  twice  to  see  if  I 
was  coming,  and  in  those  days  I  was  not  slow. 

Johnny  and  Jenny  enjoyed  playing  with  people, 
with  any  one  who  did  not  annoy  them.  Among  the 
strangers  who  came  was  a  man  who  made  friends 
at  once  and  had  a  good  romp.  When  he  left  them 
and  went  to  lunch,  Johnny  and  Jenny  followed  and 
lay  down  near  the  door  where  he  had  disappeared. 
As  he  came  out,  they  rose  up  and  started  another 
romp. 

To  attract  my  attention  or  to  ask  for  something 
to  eat,  Johnny  or  Jenny  would  stand  on  hind  legs 
and  hold  out  fore  paws  like  an  orator.  If  I  came 
104 


in   (Boob  i  o 


around  the  corner  of  the  house  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
away,  they  instantly  stood  on  tiptoe  and  gesticu- 
lated with  enthusiasm.  They  were  the  life  of  my 
home,  and  occasionally  almost  the  death  of  it. 

It  was  almost  impossible  to  get  these  cubs  filled 
up.  They  ate  everything,  —  scraps  from  the  table, 
rhubarb,  dandelions,  bitter  sage,  and  bark,  —  but 
they  were  especially  fond  of  apples.  If  I  approached 
with  meat  and  honey  upon  a  plate  but  with  apples 
or  turnips  in  my  pockets,  they  would  ignore  the 
plate  and,  clinching  me,  thrust  their  noses  into  my 
pockets  to  find  the  promised  treat. 

One  August  evening  I  brought  in  a  cluster  of 
wild  raspberries  for  Johnny  and  Jenny.  While  still 
more  than  a  hundred  feet  from  the  cabin,  both 
bears  leaped  to  their  feet,  scented  the  air,  and  came 
racing  to  meet  me  with  more  than  their  ordinary 
enthusiasm.  No  child  of  frontier  parents  could 
have  shown  more  interest  in  a  candy  package  on 
the  father's  return  from  the  city  than  did  Johnny 
and  Jenny  in  those  berries. 

A  number  of  people  were  waiting  in  my  cabin  to 

see  me.  The  little  bears  and  I  crowded  in.  I  handed 

Jenny  a  berry-laden  spray,  and  then  one  to  Johnny, 

alternating  until  they  were  equally  divided.  Stand- 

105 


ing  erect,  each  held  the  cluster  under  the  left  fore- 
arm by  pressing  it  against  the  chest.  When  brows- 
ing in  a  raspberry-patch  bears  commonly  bite  off 
the  tops  of  the  canes  together  with  the  leaves  and 
the  berries.  Johnny  and  Jenny  ate  more  daintily. 
One  berry  was  plucked  off  at  a  time  with  two  front 
claws  and  dropped  into  the  mouth.  As  one  berry 
followed  another,  the  lips  were  smacked,  and  the 
face  and  every  movement  made  expressed  immense 
satisfaction  at  the  taste. 

Every  one  crowded  close  to  watch  the  perform- 
ance. In  the  jostling  one  of  the  berry-laden  canes 
fell  to  the  floor.  Both  little  bears  grabbed  for  it  at 
the  same  instant.  They  butted  heads,  lost  their 
temper,  and  began  to  fight  over  it.  I  grabbed  them 
by  the  collars  and  shook  them. 

"Why,  Johnny  and  Jenny,"  I  said,  "why  do  you 
do  this?  And  such  awful  manners  when  we  have 
company!  What  shall  I  do  with  you?" 

They  instantly  stopped  quarreling  and  even  for- 
got the  berries.  For  several  seconds  the  little  bears 
were  embarrassed  beyond  all  measure.  They  simply 
stared  at  the  floor.  Then  suddenly  each  appeared 
to  have  the  same  idea.  Standing  erect,  facing  each 
other,  they  put  fore  paws  on  each  other's  shoul- 
106 


n   (Boob  to 


ders,  and  went  "  Ungh,  ah,  oooo."  Plainly  they  were 
very  sorry  that  they  had  misbehaved. 

The  manner  in  which  these  cubs  received  the 
berries,  the  fact  that  the  first  time  they  saw  mush- 
rooms they  scented  them  at  some  distance  and 
raced  for  them,  also  that  on  other  occasions  they 
went  out  of  their  way  to  get  a  plant  ordinarily  liked 
by  the  grizzly,  led  me  to  think  that  they  inherited 
a  taste  for  a  number  of  things  that  grizzlies  com- 
monly eat. 

One  day  we  were  out  walking,  when  we  came 
upon  an  army  of  ants.  Without  the  least  hesitation 
Johnny  and  Jenny  followed  along  the  line,  licking 
them  up.  Upon  reaching  the  stone  behind  which 
the  ants  were  disappearing,  Johnny  thrust  one  fore 
claw  under  it  and  flung  it  aside.  I  was  astonished  at 
his  strength. 

I  tried  not  to  teach  Johnny  or  Jenny  any  trick, 
but  encouraged  them  to  develop  any  original  stunt 
or  individuality  of  their  own.  One  day  Jenny  was 
attracted  by  a  big  green  fly  that  alighted  on  Johnny. 
She  struck  at  it;  the  fly  relighted  and  she  struck 
again.  With  a  little  effort  I  succeeded  in  getting  the 
bears  to  shoo  flies  off  each  other,  and  sometimes 
they  were  both  busy  at  the  same  time.  It  made  a 
107 


comical  show,  especially  when  one  was  lazily  lying 
down  and  the  other  was  shooing  with  eagerness 
and  solemnity. 

Another  activity  I  encouraged  was  the  bear's 
habit  of  holding  the  other  around  the  neck  with 
one  fore  paw  and  rubbing  or  scratching  the  back 
of  the  bear's  head  with  his  other  paw.  In  a  short 
time  both  bears,  while  facing  each  other,  would  go 
through  the  performance  at  the  same  time. 

Like  other  children  Johnny  and  Jenny  were  fond 
of  water  and  spent  much  time  rolling  and  wading 
in  the  brook  by  their  shed.  This  was  a  play  they 
enjoyed.  I  showed  interest  in  having  them  roll  and 
splash  in  the  liveliest  manner  possible. 

Johnny  seemed  unusually  interested  in  what 
I  was  doing  one  day  and  imitated  in  succession 
a  number  of  my  performances.  I  had  dropped  a 
penny  on  the  floor,  and  then,  stooping  over, 
touched  it  with  the  end  of  one  finger  and  moved  it 
rapidly  about.  He  rose  on  his  hind  feet,  held  up  one 
claw,  then,  stooping,  put  this  upon  the  penny  and 
moved  it  rapidly  about.  Blowing  the  yolk  out  of 
an  egg,  I  held  up  the  empty  shell  before  him,  and 
then  proceeded  to  move  it  rapidly  about  on  the 
floor  with  the  point  of  one  finger.  After  licking  the 
108 


n   (Boob  to 


shell  Johnny  imitated  my  every  act  without  crush- 
ing the  shell. 

j  While  Jenny  was  asleep  on  the  grass,  I  placed  a 
large  umbrella  over  her.  When  she  opened  her  eyes, 
she  at  once  commenced  a  quiet  though  frightened 
study  of  the  strange  thing.  She  closed  one  eye, 
turned  her  head  to  one  side,  and  looked  up  into  it; 
then,  turning  her  head,  closed  the  other  eye  for  a 
look.  A  sudden  puff  of  wind  gave  life  to  the  um- 
brella and  this  in  turn  to  Jenny.  She  made  a  des- 
perate dash  to  escape  the  mysterious  monster.  The 
wind  whirled  the  umbrella  before  her  and  she 
landed  in  it.  Wrecking  the  umbrella,  she  fled  in 
terror,  bellowing  with  every  jump.  It  took  more 
than  an  hour  to  explain  matters  and  assure  Jenny 
that  I  had  not  been  playing  any  tricks. 

Scotch,  my  short-nosed  collie,  was  with  me  when 
Johnny  and  Jenny  were  growing  up.  Johnny  and 
Scotch  were  fond  of  each  other,  and  though  each 
was  a  little  jealous  of  the  master's  attention  to  the 
other,  they  got  along  admirably.  Ofttimes  they 
wrestled,  and  sometimes  in  their  rough  and  tumble 
they  played  pretty  roughly.  As  a  climax  often 
Scotch  would  aim  for  a  neck-hold  on  Johnny  and 
hammer  him  on  the  tip  of  his  sensitive  nose  with 
109 


one  fore  paw,  while  Johnny  if  possible  would  seize 
Scotch's  tail  in  his  mouth  and  shut  down  on  it  with 
his  needle-like  teeth. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  pranks  which  they 
played  on  each  other  was  over  a  bone.  Scotch  was 
enjoying  this,  when  he  discovered  Johnny  watch- 
ing him  eagerly.  Plainly  Johnny  wanted  that  bone. 
After  a  little  while  Scotch  leaped  to  his  feet,  looked 
off  in  the  direction  beyond  Johnny  and  barked,  as 
though  some  object  of  interest  was  coming  from 
that  direction.  Then,  picking  up  the  bone,  he 
walked  away.  As  he  passed  in  front  of  Johnny  he 
dropped^the  bone  and  gave  a  bark.  Going  on  a  short 
distance,  he  barked  once  or  twice  more  and  lay 
down  watching  this  pretended  object  in  the  dis- 
tance. Johnny  was  more  interested  in  the  bone, 
but  Scotch  had  dropped  this  a  foot  or  two  beyond 
his  reach,  chained  as  he  was.  For  some  time 
Johnny  stood  with  his  nose  pointing  at  the  bone, 
apparently  thinking  deeply  as  to  how  he  might 
reach  it.  At  last,  stretching  his  chain  to  the  utmost 
he  reached  out  with  his  right  arm.  But  he  could  not 
touch  it.  Although  realizing  that  he  probably  could 
not  reach  it  with  the  left  arm,  nevertheless  he  tried. 

All  this  time  Scotch  was  watching  Johnny  out 
no 


n   (Boob  fo 


of  the  corner  of  his  eye  and  plainly  enjoyed  his 
failures.  Johnny  stood  looking  at  the  bone;  Scotch 
continued  looking  at  Johnny.  Suddenly  Johnny 
had  an  idea.  He  wheeled  about,  reached  back  with 
his  hind  foot  and  knocked  the  bone  forward  where 
he  could  pick  it  up  with  fore  paws.  Scotch,  aston- 
ished, leaped  to  his  feet  and  walked  off  without  a 
bark  or  once  looking  back. 

When  Johnny  and  Jenny  were  small  they  often 
reminded  me  of  a  little  boy  and  a  little  girl.  Oft- 
times  they  would  follow  me  into  my  cabin.  If  I  sat 
down  they  would  come  close,  stand  on  hind  legs, 
put  fore  paws  on  my  knees,  and  look  up  at  me. 
They  would  play  with  my  watch-string,  peep  into 
my  pockets,  notice  my  pencil,  or  look  at  the  but- 
tons on  my  coat.  Sometimes  they  would  make  a 
round  of  the  room,  scrutinize  an  unusual  knot  in  a 
log,  or  stop  to  look  for  several  seconds  at  the  books  in 
the  shelves  or  the  last  magazine-cover.  Then  again, 
like  children,  they  would  walk  round  the  room,  tap 
with  their  fore  paws  here  and  there,  and  hurry  on  as 
children  do.  More  than  once  they  climbed  up  into 
my  lap,  twitched  my  ears,  touched  my  nose,  played 
with  my  hair,  and  finally  fell  off  to  sleep,  one  on 
each  arm. 

in 


One  day,  while  I  was  carrying  Johnny  in  my 
arms,  it  occurred  to  me  that  he  would  enjoy  a  big 
rocking-chair.  I  placed  him  in  a  chair  with  one  fore 
paw  on  each  arm.  He  sat  up  like  a  little  old  man. 
As  I  started  the  chair  rocking,  he  showed  his  sus- 
picion and  alarm  by  excitedly  peering  over,  first  at 
one  rocker  and  then  the  other.  Presently  he  calmed 
down  and  seemed  to  enjoy  the  movement.  By  and 
by  he  caught  the  swing  and  rocked  himself.  Sud- 
denly the  little  old  man  and  the  rocker  went  over 
backward.  Seeing  his  angry  look  as  he  struck  the 
floor,  I  leaped  upon  the  centre  table.  Getting  on 
his  feet,  he  struck  a  blow  that  barely  missed  me 
and  then  made  lively  bites  at  my  ankles.  He  blamed 
me  for  the  law  of  falling  bodies.  After  a  few  seconds 
he  was  as  playful  as  ever,  remembering  that  I  had 
never  played  any  tricks  on  him,  and  realizing  that 
I  was  not  to  blame  for  what  had  happened. 

These  little  bears  grew  rapidly.  At  the  age  of 
seven  months  Johnny  weighed  approximately  sixty 
pounds,  and  Jenny  forty-six. 

Numerous  visitors  and  the  increasing  size  of  the 
cubs  at  last  compelled  me  to  chain  them.  The  little 
bears  were  almost  always  on  the  move,  either  pac- 
ing back  and  forth  or  circling.  Their  long  chains 
112 


n<  (Boob  to 


often  got  tangled  with  sticks,  grass,  or  bushes. 
Sometimes  the  cubs  showed  impatience,  but  usu- 
ally they  carefully  examined  the  chain,  then,  tak- 
ing it  in  their  fore  paws,  stepped  this  way  and  that 
and  generally  made  the  very  move  needed  to  extri- 
cate or  unwind  it.  While  doing  this  they  appeared 
almost  comical  because  of  their  serious  and  con- 
centrated attention. 

One  morning  Johnny  climbed  to  the  top  of  the 
pole  fence  to  which  he  was  chained.  With  happy, 
playful  activity  he  galloped  atop  the  pole  to  the 
end  of  the  chain;  then,  like  an  engine,  he  reversed 
his  direction  without  turning  and  went  hippety- 
hop  back  again.  This  was  a  favorite  exercise  of 
Johnny's,  a  game  which  I  had  encouraged  ;  but  this 
morning  while  having  a  beautiful  time  he  tumbled 
off  backward.  The  chain  caught  in  a  knot  and 
Johnny  found  himself  hung.  Grizzly  bears  resent 
being  hung  by  the  neck.  Johnny  quickly  kicked 
himself  out  of  his  collar.  Finding  himself  free,  and 
thinking  himself  abused,  I  suppose,  he  ran  away. 
After  three  days  this  runaway  boy  concluded  to 
come  home.  I  saw  him  come  out  of  the  woods  into 
an  opening  on  the  mountain-side.  Even  at  a  dis- 
tance I  could  see  that  he  no  longer  possessed  the 


big  round  stomach  that  he  took  away.  I  went  to 
meet  him.  He  was  interested  in  the  food  question, 
and  long  before  he  reached  me  he  was  dancing 
about  with  outstretched  arms. 

In  the  midst  of  this  performance  it  occurred  to 
him  that  if  he  wanted  anything  to  eat  he  must 
hurry  to  me.  So  he  checked  his  first  impulse  and 
started  to  carry  his  second  into  instant  effect. 
These  incomplete  proceedings  interrupted  and 
tripped  each  other  three  or  four  times  and  mixed 
themselves  together.  Apparently  an  entangled 
mental  process  followed  my  appearance.  Though 
he  tumbled  about  in  comic  confusion  while  trying 
to  do  two  things  at  once,  it  was  evident  through  it  all 
that  his  central  idea  was  to  get  something  to  eat. 

One  September  we  went  camping  out  in  Wild 
Basin,  Johnny  and  Jenny  racing  along  as  happy  as 
two  boys.  Sometimes  they  were  ahead  of  me,  some- 
times behind ;  occasionally  they  stopped  to  wrestle 
and  box.  At  night  they  lay  close  to  me  beside  the 
camp-fire.  Often  I  used  one  of  them  for  a  pillow, 
and  more  than  once  I  awoke  to  find  that  they  were 
using  me  for  one. 

As  we  were  climbing  along  the  top  of  a  moraine, 
a  black  bear  and  her  two  cubs  came  within  perhaps 
114 


to 

thirty  feet  of  us.  They  saw  or  scented  us.  The  cubs 
and  their  mother  bristled  up  and  ran  off  terribly 
frightened,  while  Johnny  and  Jenny  only  a  short 
distance  in  front  of  me,  walked  on,  both  ludi- 
crously pretending  that  they  had  not  seen  the  black 
bears.  Surely  they  were  touched  with  aristocracy! 

The  man  in  charge  of  my  place  neither  under- 
stood nor  sympathized  with  wide-awake  and  ag- 
gressive young  grizzlies,  and  once,  when  I  was 
away,  he  teased  Johnny.  The  inevitable  crash  came 
and  the  man  went  to  the  hospital.  On  another  oc- 
casion he  set  a  pan  of  sour  milk  on  the  ground  be- 
fore Jenny.  Bears  learn  to  like  sour  milk,  but  Jenny 
had  not  learned  and  she  sourly  sniffed  at  it.  The 
man  roared,  "Drink  it,"  and  kicked  her  in  the 
ribs.  Again  we  had  to  send  for  the  ambulance. 

At  last  it  appeared  best  to  send  Johnny  and 
Jenny  to  the  Denver  Zoo.  Two  years  went  by  be- 
fore I  allowed  myself  the  pleasure  of  visiting  them. 
A  number  of  other  bears  were  with  them  in  a  large 
pen  when  I  leaped  in,  calling  "Hello,  Johnny!"  as  I 
did  so.  Johnny  jumped  up  fully  awake,  stood  erect, 
extended  both  arms,  and  gave  a  few  joyful  grunts 
in  the  way  of  greeting.  Back  among  the  other  bears 
stood  Jenny  on  tiptoe,  eagerly  looking  on. 


mlin£  loilgoul  a  (Bun 


iling  ttri^ouf  a  (Bun 

I  HAD  gone  into  Wild  Basin,  hoping  to  see  and 
to  trail  a  grizzly.  It  was  early  November  and 
the  sun  shone  brightly  on  four  inches  of  newly 
fallen  snow;  trailing  conditions  were  excellent.  If 
possible  I  wanted  to  get  close  to  a  bear  and  watch 
his  ways  for  a  day  or  two. 

Just  as  I  climbed  above  the  last  trees  on  the  east- 
ern slope  of  the  Continental  Divide,  I  saw  a  grizzly 
ambling  along  the  other  side  of  a  narrow  canon, 
boldly  outlined  against  the  sky-line.  I  was  so  near 
that  with  my  field-glasses  I  recognized  him  as 
"Old  Timberline,"  a  bear  with  two  right  front 
toes  missing.  He  was  a  silver-tip,  —  a  nearly  white 
old  bear.  For  three  days  I  followed  Old  Timber^ 
line  through  his  home  territory  and  camped  on 
his  trail  at  night.  I  had  with  me  hatchet,  kodak, 
field-glasses,  and  a  package  of  food,  but  no  gun. 

The  grizzly  had   disappeared   by  the  time   I 

crossed  the  canon,  but  a  clear  line  of  tracks  led 

westward.  I  followed  them  over  the  Divide  and 

down  into  the  woods  on  the  other  side.  In  a  scat- 

119 


tered  tree-growth  the  tracks  turned  abruptly  to  the 
right,  then  led  back  eastward,  close  to  the  first  line 
of  tracks,  as  though  Old  Timberline  had  turned  to 
meet  any  one  who  might  be  following  him. 

The  most  impressive  thing  I  had  early  learned 
in  railing  and  studying  the  grizzly  was  that  a 
wounded  bear  if  trailed  and  harassed  will  some- 
times conceal  himself  and  lie  in  an  ambush  in  wait 
for  his  pursuer.  I  never  took  a  chance  of  walking 
into  such  danger.  Whenever  the  trail  passed  a  log, 
bowlder,  or  bushes  that  might  conceal  a  bear,  I 
turned  aside  and  scouted  the  ambush  for  a  side 
view  before  advancing  further. 

Old  Timber-line's  tracks  showed  that  he  had  now 
and  then  risen  on  hind  feet,  listened,  and  turned  to 
look  back.  He  acted  as  though  he  knew  I  was  fol- 
lowing him,  but  this  he  had  not  yet  discovered.  All 
grizzlies  are  scouts  of  the  first  order;  they  are  ever 
on  guard.  When  at  rest  their  senses  do  continuous 
sentinel  duty,  and  when  traveling  they  act  exactly 
as  though  they  believed  some  man  was  in  pursuit. 

Following  along  the  trail  and  wondering  what 
turn  the  grizzly  would  make  next,  I  found  where 
he  had  climbed  upon  a  ledge  in  the  edge  of  an  open- 
ing, and  had  evidently  stood  for  some  seconds, 
120 


urif  0ouf  a  (Bun 


looking  and  listening.  From  the  ledge  he  had  faced 
about  and  continued  his  course  westward,  heading 
for  a  spur  on  the  summit  of  the  Divide. 

We  were  in  what  is  now  the  southern  end  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  National  Park.  The  big  bear  and 
myself  were  on  one  of  the  high  sky-lines  of  the 
earth.  We  traversed  a  territory  ten  thousand  to 
twelve  thousand  feet  above  sea-level,  much  of  it 
above  the  limits  of  tree  growth.  There  were  long 
stretches  of  moorland,  an  occasional  peak  towering 
above  us,  and  ridges  long  and  short  thrusting  east 
and  west,  and  canons  of  varying  width  and  depth 
were  to  be  seen  below  us  from  the  summit  heights. 

Crossing  this  spur  of  the  Divide,  the  grizzly  en- 
tered the  woods.  Here  he  spent  so  much  time  roll- 
ing logs  about  and  tearing  them  open  for  grubs  and 
ants  that  I  nearly  caught  up  with  him.  I  watched 
him  through  the  scattered  trees  from  a  rocky  ledge 
until  he  moved  on.  This  after  a  few  minutes  he  did. 
As  he  came  to  an  opening  in  the  woods,  I  wondered 
whether  he  would  go  round  it  to  the  right  or  to  the 
left.  To  my  astonishment,  without  the  least  hesita- 
tion he  sauntered  across  the  opening,  his  head  held 
low  and  swinging  easily  from  side  to  side.  But  the 
instant  he  was  screened  by  trees  beyond,  rising  up, 
121 


with  fore  paws  resting  against  a  tree,  he  peered 
cautiously  out  to  see  if  he  was  being  followed. 
When  the  next  opening  in  the  woods  was  reached, 
he  went  discreetly  round  it.  You  never  know  what  a 
grizzly's  next  move  will  be  nor  how  to  anticipate 
his  actions. 

Old  Timberline  started  down  into  a  canon  as 
though  to  descend  a  gully  diagonally  to  the  bot- 
tom. I  hastily  made  a  short  cut  and  was  ready  to 
take  his  picture  when  he  should  come  out  at  the 
lower  end.  But  he  never  came.  After  waiting  some 
time,  I  back-tracked  and  found  he  had  gone  only  a 
few  hundred  feet  down  the  gully,  then  returned  to 
the  top  of  the  canon  and  followed  along  the  rim  for 
a  mile.  He  had  then  descended  directly  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  canon  and  gone  straight  up  to  the  top 
on  the  other  side. 

Autumn  is  the  time  when  bears  most  search  the 
heights  for  food.  Old  Timberline's  trail  headed 
again  for  the  heights.  When  I  next  caught  sight  of 
him,  he  was  digging  above  the  tree-line,  but  as  it 
was  now  nearly  night,  I  went  back  a  short  distance 
into  the  woods  and  built  a  fire  by  the  base  of  a 
cliff.  Here  all  through  the  clear  night  I  had  a  glori- 
ous view  of  the  high  peaks  up  among  the  cold  stars. 

122 


(Bun 

Before  daylight  I  left  camp  and  climbed  to  the 
top  of  a  treeless  ridge,  thinking  that  the  bear  might 
come  along  that  way.  In  the  course  of  time  he  ap- 
peared, about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  east  of  me.  After 
standing  and  looking  about  for  a  few  minutes,  he 
started  along  the  ridge,  evidently  planning  to  re- 
cross  the  Continental  Divide  near  where  he  had 
crossed  the  day  before.  As  I  could  not  get  close  to 
him  from  this  point,  I  concluded  to  follow  his  trail 
of  the  preceding  night  and  if  possible  find  out  what 
he  had  been  doing. 

A  short  distance  below  him  I  found  his  trail  and 
back-tracked  to  a  place  which  showed  that  he  had 
spent  the  night  near  the  entrance  of  a  recently  dug 
den.  I  learned  some  weeks  later  that  this  den  was 
where  he  hibernated  that  winter.  A  short  distance 
farther  on  I  came  to  where  he  had  been  digging 
when  I  saw  him  the  evening  before.  Evidently  he 
had  been  successful.  A  few  drops  of  blood  on  the 
snow  showed  that  he  had  captured  some  small  ani- 
mal, probably  a  cony.  From  this  point  I  trailed 
Old  Timberline  forward  and  eastward,  and  near 
noon  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  him  on  the  summit  of 
the  Divide. 

While  roaming  above  timber-line  he  did  not  take 
123 


the  precaution  to  travel  with  his  face  in  the  wind. 
He  could  see  toward  every  point  of  the  compass. 
He  was  ambling  easily  along,  but  I  knew  that  his 
senses  were  wide  awake  —  that  his  sentinel  nose 
never  slept  and  that  his  ears  never  ceased  to  hear. 
Climbing  to  the  very  summit  of  a  snow-covered 
ridge,  he  lay  down  with  his  back  to  the  wind.  Evi- 
dently he  depended  upon  the  wind  to  carry  the 
warning  scent  of  any  danger  behind  him,  while  he 
was  on  the  lookout  for  anything  in  front  of  him. 
Nothing  could  approach  nearer  than  half  a  mile 
without  his  knowing  it.  He  looked  this  way  and 
that.  After  only  a  short  rest  he  arose  and  started 
on  again.  : 

I  hoped  that  some  time  I  should  be  able  to  pho- 
tograph Old  Timberline  at  twenty-five  or  thirty 
feet.  But  at  all  times,  too,  I  was  more  eager  to 
watch  him,  to  see  what  he  was  eating,  where  he 
went,  and  what  he  did.  I  was  constantly  trying  to 
get  as  close  as  possible.  Of  course  I  had  ever  to 
keep  in  mind  that  he  must  not  see,  hear,  nor  scent 
me.  I  had  to  be  particularly  careful  to  prevent  his 
scenting  me.  Often  in  hastening  to  reach  a  point  of 
vantage  I  had  to  stop,  note  the  topography,  and 
change  my  direction,  because  a  wind-current  up  an 


iotfflotrf  a  (Bun 


unsuspected  canon  before  me  might  carry  news  of 
my  presence  to  the  bear. 

Near  mountain-tops  the  wind  is  deflected  this 
way  and  that  by  ridges  and  canons.  In  a  small  area 
the  prevailing  west  wind  may  be  a  north  wind,  and 
a  short  distance  farther  on  it  may  blow  from  the 
southwest.  Often,  when  the  bear  was  somewhere  in 
a  canon,  I  climbed  entirely  out  of  it,  to  avoid  the 
likelihood  of  being  scented,  and  scurried  ahead  on  a 
plateau. 

Usually  I  followed  in  the  bear's  trail,  but  some- 
times I  made  short  cuts.  So  long  as  Old  Timberline 
remained  on  the  moorland  summit  of  this  treeless 
ridge,  I  could  not  get  close  to  him.  But  when  he 
arose  and  started  down  the  ridge,  I  hurried  down 
the  slope,  hoping  to  get  ahead  and  hide  in  a  place 
of  concealment  near  which  he  might  pass.  I  kept 
out  of  sight  in  the  woods  and  hastened  forward  for 
two  miles,  then  climbed  up  and  hid  in  a  rock-slide 
on  the  rim  of  the  ridge. 

By  and  by  I  saw  Old  Timberline  coming.  When 
within  five  hundred  feet  of  me  he  stopped  and  dug 
energetically.  Buckets  of  earth  flew  behind,  and 
occasionally  a  huge  stone  was  torn  out  and  hurled 
with  one  paw  to  the  right  or  left.  Once  he  stopped 
125 


digging,  rose  on  hind  feet,  and  looked  all  around  as 
though  he  felt  that  some  one  was  slipping  up  on 
him.  He  dug  for  a  few  minutes  longer  and  then 
again  stood  up  and  sniffed  the  air.  Not  satisfied,  he 
walked  quickly  to  a  ledge  from  which  he  could  see 
down  the  slope  to  the  woods.  Discovering  nothing 
suspicious,  he  returned  to  his  digging,  stepping  in 
his  former  footprints.  He  uncovered  something  in 
its  nest,  and  through  my  glasses  I  saw  him  strike 
right  and  left  and  then  rush  out  in  pursuit  of  it. 
After  nosing  about  in  the  hole  where  he  had  been 
digging,  he  started  off  again.  He  went  directly  to 
the  ledge,  walking  in  his  former  well-tracked  trail, 
then  descended  the  steep  eastern  slope  of  the 
Divide  toward  the  woods.  I  hurried  to  the  ledge 
from  which  he  had  surveyed  the  surroundings 
and  watched  him. 

Arriving  at  a  steep  incline  on  the  snowy  slope, 
Old  Timberline  sat  down  on  his  haunches  and 
coasted.  A  grizzly  bear  coasting  on  the  Continen- 
tal Divide!  How  merrily  he  went,  leaning  forward 
with  his  paws  on  his  knees!  At  one  place  he  plunged 
over  a  snowy  ledge  and  dropped  four  or  five  feet. 
He  threw  up  both  fore  paws  with  sheer  joy.  Soon 
he  found  himself  exceeding  the  speed-limit.  Look- 
126 


frn<  xoi^ouf  a  (Bun 


ing  back  over  one  shoulder,  and  reaching  out  his 
paw  behind  him,  he  put  on  brakes;  but  as  this  did 
not  check  him  sufficiently,  he  whirled  about  and 
slid  flat  on  his  stomach,  digging  in  with  both  fin- 
gers and  toes  until  he  slowed  down. 

Then,  sitting  up  on  his  haunches  again,  he  set 
himself  in  motion  by  pushing  along  with  rapid 
backward  strokes  of  both  fore  paws.  He  coasted  on 
toward  the  bottom.  In  going  down  a  steep  pitch  of 
one  hundred  feet  or  more  he  either  quite  lost  con- 
trol of  himself  or  let  go  from  sheer  enthusiasm.  He 
rolled,  tumbled,  and  slid  recklessly  along.  Reaching 
the  bottom,  he  rose  on  hind  feet,  looked  about  him 
for  a  few  seconds,  and  then  climbed  halfway  up 
the  course  for  another  coast.  At  the  end  of  this 
merry  sliding  he  landed  on  an  open  flat  in  the  edge 
of  the  woods. 

As  it  was  nearly  dark  and  I  should  not  be  able  to 
see  or  follow  the  bear  much  longer,  I  concluded  to 
roll  a  rock  from  the  ledge  down  near  him.  Twice  I 
had  noticed  that  he  had  paid  no  attention  to  rocks 
that  broke  loose  above  and  rolled  near  him.  But  he 
heard  this  rock  start  and  rose  up  to  look  at  it.  It 
stopped  a  few  yards  from  him.  He  sniffed  the  air 
with  nose  pointing  toward  it  and  then  went  up  and 
127 


smelled  it.  Rearing  up  instantly,  he  looked  intently 
toward  the  mountain-top  where  I  was  hidden. 
After  two  or  three  seconds  of  thought  he  turned 
and  ran.  Evidently  the  stone  had  carried  my  scent 
to  him.  It  was  useless  to  follow  him  in  the  night. 

The  next  morning  I  left  camp  and  followed  Old 
Timberline's  trail  through  the  woods.  He  had  run 
for  nearly  ten  miles  almost  straight  south  until 
coming  to  a  small  stream.  Then  for  some  distance 
he  concealed,  involved,  and  confused  his  trail  with 
a  cleverness  that  I  have  never  seen  equaled.  Most 
animals  realize  that  they  leave  a  scent  which  en- 
ables other  animals  to  follow  them,  but  the  grizzly 
is  the  only  animal  that  I  know  who  appears  to  be 
fully  aware  that  he  is  leaving  telltale  tracks.  He 
will  make  unthought-of  turns  and  doublings  to 
walk  where  his  tracks  will  not  show,  and  also  tram- 
ples about  to  leave  a  confusion  of  tracks  where 
they  do  show. 

Arriving  at  the  stream,  the  bear  crossed  on  a 
fallen  log  and  from  the  end  of  this  leaped  into  a 
bushy  growth  beyond.  I  made  a  d6tour,  thinking  to 
find  his  tracks  on  the  other  side  of  the  bushes,  and 
I  threw  stones  into  the  bushes,  not  caring  to  go 
into  them.  Both  tracks  and  grizzly  seemed  to  have 
128 


ifing  uritfjoirf  a  d5un 

vanished.  I  went  down  stream  just  outside  the 
bushes  bordering  it,  expecting  every  instant  to 
find  the  grizzly's  tracks,  but  not  finding  them. 
Then  I  returned  to  the  log  on  which  he  had  crossed 
the  stream,  and  from  which  he  had  leaped  into  the 
bushes. 

Examining  the  tracks  carefully,  I  now  discovered 
what  I  had  before  overlooked.  After  leaping  into 
the  bushes  the  bear  had  faced  about  and  leaped 
back  to  the  log,  stepping  carefully  into  his  former 
tracks.  From  the  log  he  had  entered  the  water  and 
waded  up  stream  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  Of  course 
not  a  track  showed.  At  a  good  place  for  concealing 
his  trail  he  had  leaped  out  of  the  water  into  a  clump 
of  willows  on  the  north  bank.  From  the  willows  he 
made  another  long  leap  into  the  snow  and  then 
started  back  northward,  alongside  his  ten-mile 
trail  and  one  hundred  feet  from  it,  as  though  in- 
tending to  return  to  the  place  where  I  had  rolled 
the  stone  down  the  slope  near  him. 

I  did  not  discover  all  this  at  once,  however.  In 
my  search  for  his  trail  I  went  up  stream  on  the 
north  side  and  passed,  without  noticing,  the 
crushed  willows  into  which  he  had  leaped.  Crossing 
to  where  the  bank  was  higher,  I  started  back  down 
129 


stream  on  the  other  side,  and  in  doing  so  chanced 
to  look  across  and  see  the  crushed  clump  of  wil- 
lows. But  it  took  me  hours  to  untangle  this  in- 
volved trail. 

When  I  had  followed  the  tracks  northward  for 
more  than  a  mile,  the  trail  vanished  in  a  snowless 
place.  Apparently  the  grizzly  had  planned  in  ad- 
vance to  use  this  bare  place,  because  the  moves  he 
made  in  it  were  those  most  likely  to  bewilder  the 
pursuer.  He  did  three  things  which  are  always 
more  or  less  confusing  and  even  bewildering  to  the 
pursuer,  be  he  man  or  dog.  He  changed  his  direc- 
tion, he  left  no  tracks,  and  he  crossed  his  former 
trail,  thereby  mixing  the  scents  of  the  two.  He  con- 
fused the  nose,  left  no  record  for  the  eye,  and  broke 
the  general  direction. 

Unable  to  determine  the  course  the  bear  had 
taken  across  this  trackless  place,  I  walked  round 
it,  keeping  all  the  time  in  the  snow.  When  more 
than  halfway  round  I  came  upon  his  tracks  leav- 
ing the  bare  place.  Here  he  had  changed  his  direc- 
tion of  travel  abruptly  from  north  to  east,  crossed 
his  former  trail,  gone  on  a  few  yards  farther,  and 
then  abruptly  changed  from  east  to  north. 

I  hurried  along  his  tracks.  After  a  few  miles  I 
130 


(Bun 

saw  where  perhaps  the  night  before  he  had  eaten 
part  of  the  carcass  of  a  bighorn.  To  judge  from 
tooth  marks,  the  sheep  had  been  killed  by  wolves. 
The  trail  continued  in  general  northward,  parallel 
to  the  summit  and  a  little  below  it.  As  I  followed, 
the  tracks  approached  timber-line,  the  trees  being 
scattered  and  the  country  quite  open. 

Suddenly  the  trail  broke  off  to  the  right  for 
five  or  six  hundred  feet  into  the  woods,  as  though 
Old  Timber-line  had  remembered  an  acquaintance 
whom  he  must  see  again.  He  had  hustled  along 
straight  for  a  much-clawed  Engelmann  spruce,  a 
tree  with  bear-claw  and  tooth  marks  of  many 
dates,  though  none  were  recent.  Old  Timberline, 
apparently,  had  smelled  the  base  of  the  tree  and 
then  risen  up  and  sniffed  the  bark  as  high  as 
his  nose  could  reach.  He  had  neither  bitten  nor 
clawed.  Then  he  had  gone  to  two  near-by  trees, 
each  of  which  had  had  chunks  bitten  or  torn  out, 
and  here  smelled  about. 

Retracing  his  tracks  to  where  the  trail  had 
turned  off  abruptly,  the  bear  resumed  his  general 
direction  northward.  When  he  stopped  on  a  ridge 
and  began  digging,  I  hurried  across  a  narrow  neck 
of  woods  and  crept  up  as  close  as  I  dared.  A  wagon- 


load  of  dirt  and  stones  had  been  piled  up.  While 
I  watched  the  digging,  a  woodchuck  rushed  out, 
only  to  be  overtaken  and  seized  by  the  bear,  who, 
having  finished  his  meal,  shuffled  on  out  of  sight. 

I  followed  the  trail  through  woods,  groves,  and 
openings.  After  an  hour  or  more  without  seeing  the 
grizzly,  I  climbed  a  cliff,  hoping  to  get  a  glimpse  of 
him  on  some  ridge  ahead.  I  could  see  his  line  of 
tracks  crossing  a  low  ridge  beyond  and  felt  that  he 
might  still  be  an  hour  or  so  in  the  lead.  But,  in  de- 
scending from  the  cliff,  I  chanced  to  look  back 
along  my  trail.  Just  at  that  moment  the  bear 
came  out  of  the  woods  behind  me.  He  was  trail- 
ing me! 

I  do  not  know  how  he  discovered  that  I  was  fol- 
lowing him.  He  may  have  seen  or  scented  me.  Any- 
way, instead  of  coming  directly  back  and  thus 
exposing  himself,  he  had  very  nearly  carried  out 
his  well-planned  surprise  when  I  discovered  him.  I 
found  out  afterwards  that  he  had  left  his  trail  far 
ahead,  turning  and  walking  back  in  his  own  foot- 
prints for  a  distance,  and  trampling  this  stretch  a 
number  of  times,  and  that  he  had  then  leaped  into 
scrubby  timber  and  made  off  on  the  side  where  his 
tracks  did  not  show  in  passing  along  the  trampled 
132 


a  (Bun 

trail.  He  had  confused  his  trail  where  he  started 
to  circle  back,  so  as  not  to  be  noticed,  and  slipped 
in  around  behind  me. 

But  after  discovering  the  grizzly  on  my  trail  I 
went  slowly  along  as  though  I  was  unaware  of  his 
near  presence,  turning  in  screened  places  to  look 
back.  He  followed  within  three  hundred  feet  of 
me.  When  I  stopped  he  stopped.  He  occasionally 
watched  me  from  behind  bushes,  a  tree,  or  a  bowl- 
der. It  gave  me  a  strange  feeling  to  have  this  big 
beast  following  and  watching  me  so  closely  and 
cautiously.  But  I  was  not  alarmed. 

I  concluded  to  turn  tables  on  him.  On  crossing  a 
ridge  where  I  was  out  of  sight,  I  turned  to  the  right 
and  ran  for  nearly  a  mile.  Then,  circling  back  into 
our  old  trail  behind  the  bear,  I  traveled  serenely 
along,  imagining  that  he  was  far  ahead.  I  was  sud- 
denly startled  to  see  a  movement  of  the  grizzly's 
shadow  from  behind  a  bowlder  near  the  trail,  only 
three  hundred  feet  ahead.  He  was  in  ambush,  wait- 
ing for  me!  At  the  place  where  I  left  the  trail  to  cir- 
cle behind  him,  he  had  stopped  and  evidently  sur- 
mised my  movements.  Turning  in  his  tracks,  he 
had  come  a  short  distance  back  on  the  trail  and 
lain  down  behind  the  bowlder  to  wait  for  me. 
133 


I  went  on  a  few  steps  after  discovering  the  griz- 
zly, and  he  moved  to  keep  out  of  sight.  I  edged 
toward  a  tall  spruce,  which  I  planned  to  climb  if  he 
charged,  feeling  safe  in  the  knowledge  that  grizzlies 
cannot  climb  trees.  Pausing  by  the  spruce,  I  could 
see  his  silver-gray  fur  as  he  peered  at  me  from 
behind  the  bowlder,  and  as  I  moved  farther  away 
I  heard  him  snapping  his  jaws  and  snarling  as 
though  in  anger  at  being  outwitted. 

Just  what  he  would  have  done  had  I  walked  into 
his  ambush  can  only  be  guessed.  Hunters  trailing 
a  wounded  grizzly  have  been  ambushed  and  killed. 
But  this  grizzly  had  not  even  been  shot  at  nor 
harassed. 

Generally,  when  a  grizzly  discovers  that  he  is 
followed,  or  even  if  he  only  thinks  himself  fol- 
lowed, he  at  once  hurries  off  to  some  other  part  of 
his  territory,  as  this  one  did  after  I  rolled  the  stone. 
But  Old  Timberline  on  finding  himself  followed 
slipped  round  to  follow  me.  Often  a  grizzly,  if  he 
feels  he  is  not  yet  seen,  —  that  his  move  is  unsus- 
pected, —  will  slip  round  to  follow  those  who  are 
trailing  him.  But  in  no  other  case  that  I  know  of  has 
a  bear  lingered  after  he  realized  that  he  was  seen. 
After  Old  Timberline  discovered  that  I  had  circled 
134 


totfflouf  A  (Bun 

behind  him,  he  knew  that  I  knew  where  he  was  and 
what  he  was  doing. 

But  instead  of  running  away  he  came  back  along 
the  trail  to  await  my  coming.  What  were  his  inten- 
tions? Did  he  intend  to  assault  me,  or  was  he  over- 
come with  curiosity  because  of  my  unusual  actions 
and  trying  to  discover  what  they  were  all  about?  I  do 
not  know.  I  concluded  it  best  not  to  follow  him  far- 
ther, nor  did  I  wish  to  travel  that  night  with  this 
crafty,  soft- footed  fellow  in  the  woods.  Going  a  short 
distance  down  among  the  trees,  I  built  a  rousing  fire. 
Between  it  and  a  cliff  I  spent  the  night,  satisfied  that 
I  had  had  adventure  enough  for  one  outing. 

Trailing  is  adventurous.  Many  of  the  best  les- 
sons of  woodcraft  that  I  have  learned,  several  of 
the  greatest  and  most  beneficial  outings  that  I 
have  had,  were  those  during  which  I  followed, 
sometimes  day  and  night,  that  master  of  strategy, 
the  grizzly  bear.  A  few  times  in  trailing  the  griz- 
zly I  have  outwitted  him,  but  more  frequently  he 
has  outwitted  me.  Every  grizzly  has  speed,  skill, 
and  endurance.  He  has  mental  capacity  and 
often  shows  astounding  plan,  caution,  courage, 
and  audacity. 

Trailing  without  a  gun  is  red-blooded  life,  scout- 
135 


ing  of  the  most  exacting  and  manly  order.  The 
trailer  loses  himself  in  his  part  in  the  primeval  play 
of  the  wilderness.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  other  ex- 
perience is  as  educational  as  the  trailing  of  the 
grizzly  bear. 


ONE  of  the  best  play-exhibitions  that  I  have 
ever  enjoyed  was  that  of  a  grizzly  juggling 
with  an  eight-foot  log  in  a  mountain  stream.  In 
examining  the  glaciation  of  the  Continental  Di- 
vide, five  or  six  miles  west  of  Long's  Peak,  I  came 
out  of  the  woods  into  a  little  meadow  by  the  East 
Inlet  of  Grand  Lake,  where  I  saw  the  grizzly  and 
the  log,  rolling  and  tumbling  in  the  water.  The  log 
bobbed  and  plunged  about  as  the  bear  struggled 
with  it  in  the  swift  current. 

The  big,  shaggy  grizzly,  wild  and  gray,  fitted 
into  the  wild  mountain  scene.  A  peak  bristling  with 
ledges  and  dotted  with  snow  towered  in  the  blue 
sky  behind.  Down  the  steep  incline  of  the  peak  the 
clear,  cold  stream  came  with  subdued  roar,  as  it 
rushed  the  inclines  and  the  rapids  of  its  solid  rock- 
cut  channel.  The  opposite  wall  of  the  canon  was  of 
glacier-polished  granite,  while  behind  me  the  wall 
rose  steeply,  covered  with  a  crowded  growth  of 
towering  spruce.  It  was  a  grand  wilderness  play- 
ground. 

139 


As  I  watched  from  the  edge  of  the  woods,  the 
grizzly  once  hugged  the  log  between  fore  paws, 
stood  it  on  end  in  the  water,  and  then  tried  to 
climb  it.  His  weight  caused  it  to  tip  him  over.  The 
log  escaped  from  the  bear  and  started  to  float 
away,  but  he  was  after  it  with  a  rush. 

Another  time  he  lay  across  it  and  splashed  about 
like  a  boy  on  a  pole  trying  to  learn  to  swim.  Get- 
ting too  far  forward,  he  rolled  under  the  log. 
Struggling  on  his  back,  he  grasped  it  between  all 
four  feet.  Then  he  took  it  beneath  one  forearm  and 
suddenly  ducked  it  into  deep  water.  It  shot  out 
into  the  middle  of  the  stream  with  the  bear  splash- 
ing wildly  in  pursuit.  At  last  he  succeeded  in  se- 
curing a  good  hold  with  his  teeth  and  was  tugging 
the  log  toward  the  bank  when  he  saw  a  stick  float- 
ing down  stream.  As  he  turned  to  seize  it,  his  wave 
pushed  the  stick  farther  away  and  at  the  same 
time  gave  the  log  a  start  down  stream.  Turning 
from  the  stick,  he  hurried  to  seize  the  log.  Push- 
ing it  end  on  against  the  rocky  bank,  and  press- 
ing against  it  with  one  fore  paw,  he  looked  over 
his  shoulder  as  though  intending  to  seize  the 
stick.  But  this  was  out  of  reach,  hurrying  down 
stream. 

140 


CATCHING  BLACK  BEAR  CUBS 


Next  he  appeared  to  be  trying  to  walk  the  log. 
When  he  was  almost  on  it,  the  log  rolled  and  with  a 
splash  the  grizzly  fell  into  the  water  on  his  side. 
For  a  second  he  lost  sight  of  the  log,  or  pretended 
that  he  had,  and  took  swift  glances  this  way  and 
that.  As  it  bumped  into  his  up-stream  side,  he 
seized  it  with  feigned  surprise.  Then  he  took  it  to 
the  bank  in  shallow  water,  mauling  it  about,  biting 
and  gnawing  at  it.  As  the  log  rolled  from  side  to 
side,  he  swam  around  it,  batting  it  and  pushing  it 
under. 

A  number  of  Clarke  nutcrackers  and  magpies 
had  collected  and  in  astonishment  watched  the 
exhibition.  Ordinarily  a  nutcracker  is  noisy  in 
autumn,  screaming  and  chuckling  loudly  and 
harshly.  But  these  were  motionless  and  silent  as 
they  watched.  A  passing  magpie  whirled  aside  to 
see  the  show,  and  was  just  alighting  on  the  bank 
when  the  bear  splashed  water  wildly  with  a  sweep- 
ing stroke  at  the  log.  With  confused  haste  the 
magpie  retreated.  Taking  a  stand  on  a  solitary 
spruce  which  leaned  over  the  bank,  he  watched  the 
scene  without  a  move.  The  other  birds,  equally  in- 
tent, watched  from  a  high-water  log-jam  among 
large  near-by  bowlders. 

141 


At  last  the  grizzly  secured  the  log  just  under 
water.  Standing  upon  it  with  hind  feet,  he  reached 
down  with  both  fore  paws  and  went  through  an 
up-and-down  motion  like  a  washerwoman.  Then 
he  left  the  log  and  walked  along  the  bank,  keeping 
watch  of  it  as  it  floated  slowly  down  stream.  It 
gradually  pulled  off  from  the  bank.  When  it  was 
about  ten  feet  away  he  leaped  playfully  after  it 
with  feet  outspread  like  those  of  a  flying  squirrel. 
Letting  it  drift  again,  he  watched  it  intently  as  it 
was  swept  into  the  current  and  floated  away  in 
midstream.  By  swimming  and  wading  he  kept 
alongside  for  some  distance,  then  put  one  fore  paw 
upon  it.  Perhaps  he  was  about  to  start  something 
new,  but  just  then  he  scented  something  over  his 
right  shoulder. 

Releasing  the  log,  he  climbed  upon  a  bowlder 
that  projected  above  the  water.  On  hind  feet,  in- 
terested and  curious,  he  stood  gazing  for  some 
seconds.  Evidently  desiring  more  information,  he 
started  ashore  and  never  looked  back  at  the  log 
hurrying  away  down  the  rapids. 

I  found  afterwards  that  the  grizzly  had  rolled 
the  log  into  the  water  a  short  distance  up  stream 
from  where  I  came  upon  him.  The  log  was  a  sound 
142 


section  of  a  spruce  that  had  broken  off  when  the 
tree  fell  among  bowlders  and  lay  on  the  bank  a  few 
feet  from  the  water.  The  bear  had  come  down 
stream,  and  in  passing  ten  or  twelve  feet  from  the 
log  had  turned  aside  to  it.  He  may  have  rolled  it 
over  to  see  if  there  were  insects  beneath,  but,  ac- 
cidentally or  intentionally,  he  had  rolled  it  into  the 
water. 

This  play  of  a  grizzly  with  an  object  is  much  less 
common  than  their  other  play,  such  as  coasting. 
Several  times  I  have  seen  grizzlies  lying  on  their 
stomachs  sliding  down  a  steep,  smooth,  grassy 
slope,  or  trying  to  start  themselves  on  a  slope  that 
was  not  steep  enough  for  coasting.  A  grizzly  pauses 
to  play  frequently.  A  mother  and  cubs  often  play 
together  in  the  water,  with  apparent  enjoyment 
for  all.  Many  a  beaver  pond  is  a  favorite  swim- 
ming-hole for  the  cubs  and  a  wading-place  for  the 
older  bears. 

I  watched  an  old  grizzly  romping  in  the  mud  of 
a  shallow  pond.  After  rolling  and  wallowing  about, 
until  his  fur  coat  was  covered  with  mud  thick 
enough  to  form  a  plaster  cast,  he  grew  energetic. 
He  ran  for  the  shore  with  all  speed,  as  though  hun- 
ters and  dogs  were  upon  him.  Once  out  of  the  mud, 
143 


he  turned  and  raced  back  through  the  pond,  gal- 
loping all  the  way  across  and  sending  the  mud 
and  water  flying  in  exciting  fashion.  After  a  mo- 
mentary pause  he  again  galloped  through  the  mud 
and  water  to  the  other  side.  The  pond  was  half 
filled  with  sediment,  and  evidently  the  mud  was 
more  than  a  foot  deep. 

One  autumn  while  camping  on  the  Continental 
Divide  near  the  head  of  Forest  Canon,  I  discovered 
that  a  grizzly  will  sometimes  climb  a  slope  for  the 
purpose  of  coasting.  While  I  was  watching  a  flock 
of  bighorn  sheep,  a  grizzly  came  to  the  summit  of  a 
near-by  mountain.  I  saw  him  as  he  reached  the  top 
and  supposed  he  was  crossing  to  the  other  side.  He 
shuffled  along  apparently  with  definite  plans  in 
mind.  But  he  was  not  going  over  the  top.  He 
headed  straight  for  an  out-jutting  ridge  where  the 
wind-blown  snow  from  the  summit  had  formed  a 
cornice  at  the  top  of  its  steep  snowy  slope. 

The  grizzly  hurled  himself  headlong  upon  the 
snow  cornice  with  fore  paws  outstretched.  The 
cornice  gave  way  beneath  him.  The  snow  slid  and 
snow-dust  whirled  about  him.  I  had  glimpses  of 
him  looking  like  a  fur-robed  Eskimo  falling  down  a 
snowy  precipice  in  a  blizzard.  As  the  snow-dust 
144 


cleared,  it  revealed  the  grizzly  seated  in  a  moving 
mass  of  snow,  coasting  swiftly  down. 

The  snow  went  to  pieces  on  a  nearly  hidden 
rock-point  and  spilled  the  coaster.  He  rolled,  then 
slid,  first  on  his  stomach  head  first,  then  on  his 
back  feet  first,  but  collected  himself  at  the  bottom. 
Rising  and  bearing  away  from  the  deep  snow,  he 
climbed  up  again  and  appeared  to  look  with  inter- 
est at  the  gully  he  had  made  in  the  slope  as  he 
coasted  and  also  at  the  scattered  marks  where  he 
was  spilled. 

Just  beneath  the  cornice  he  waded  into  the 
snow.  He  shook  himself,  kicked  the  snow,  went 
through  swimming  motions  but  still  did  not  start 
to  slide.  The  slope  was  not  steep  enough.  Wallow- 
ing down  a  short  distance,  he  rose,  then  rolled  for- 
ward over  and  over  —  cartwheeled.  After  three  or 
four  turns  he  began  to  slide.  This  stirred  up  so 
much  snow-dust  that  I  could  get  only  dim  glimpses 
of  him  and  could  not  tell  whether  he  was  sliding 
head  first  or  tail  first.  On  the  thin  snow  at  the  bot- 
tom the  dust-fog  cleared,  and  the  grizzly  rolled  over 
and  over  down  the  slope  like  a  log.  Getting  on  his 
feet,  he  walked  away  and  disappeared  behind  the 
storm-battered  trees  at  timber-line. 
145 


I  took  pains  to  track  the  bear.  Down  in  the 
woods,  more  than  three  miles  from  his  coasting- 
place,  he  had  made  a  meal  the  evening  before  off 
the  smelly  old  carcass  of  a  deer.  He  spent  the  night 
by  the  bones.  In  the  morning  he  climbed  to  the  top 
of  a  ridge  that  rose  above  the  tree-tops.  His  tracks 
showed  that  he  had  walked  about  here  and  stopped 
at  three  or  four  places  to  look  down  on  scenes  be- 
low. 

Then  he  had  followed  his  tracks  back  close  to 
where  he  had  spent  the  night.  Here  he  had  tramped 
about  in  the  snow  as  though  having  nothing  in  par- 
ticular to  do.  But  a  coyote  was  trying  to  find  some- 
thing on  the  bones  and  the  bear  may  have  been 
threatening  him.  He  finally  started  off,  plainly 
with  coasting  in  his  mind,  for  without  stopping  he 
went  directly  to  the  snow  cornice.  From  tracks 
which  I  saw  in  this  and  other  canons  I  realized 
that  a  grizzly  sometimes  goes  out  of  his  way  in 
order  to  coast  down  steep  snowy  places. 

A  grizzly  that  I  was  following  one  November 
morning  was  evidently  well  fed,  for  he  traveled 
slowly  along  with  apparently  nothing  to  do.  De- 
scending the  ridge  on  which  he  had  been  walking, 
he  came  upon  the  side  of  a  steep  southern  slope, 
146 


across  the  ravine  from  where  I  had  paused  to 
watch  him.  Occasionally  a  bush  or  weed  sprang  up 
as  the  warm  sun  released  it  from  its  little  burden  of 
snow.  If  it  was  close  to  him,  he  reached  out  one 
paw  and  stroked  or  boxed  it  daintily  and  playfully 
as  a  kitten;  or,  if  a  few  feet  away,  he  stopped, 
turned  his  head  to  one  side,  and  looked  at  it  with 
lazy,  curious  interest.  He  turned  for  a  better 
glimpse  of  a  tall  willow  springing  up  as  if  inviting 
him  to  play  and  appeared  just  ready  to  respond 
when  he  caught  sight  of  his  moving  dark-blue 
shadow  against  the  white  slope.  Instantly,  reach- 
ing out  lightly  with  one  fore  paw,  he  commenced 
to  play  with  the  shadow.  As  it  dodged,  he  tried  to 
reach  it  with  the  other  paw,  then  stopped  to  look 
at  it.  He  sat  down  and  watched  it  intently,  ready 
to  strike  it  if  it  moved ;  he  pushed  his  nose  closer  to 
it.  Keeping  his  eyes  on  the  shadow,  with  a  sudden 
leap  he  threw  both  fore  paws  forward  and  brought 
them  down  where  the  shadow  had  been  before  his 
move.  For  several  seconds  he  leaped  and  struck 
right  and  left  in  his  vain  efforts  to  catch  it.  Then, 
seated  on  his  haunches,  he  watched  the  shadow  out 
of  one  eye.  He  turned  his  head,  possibly  wondering 
what  the  shadow  would  do.  He  seemed  surprised 
147 


to  find  that  it  was  not  behind  him,  and  turned  back 
quickly  to  see  where  it  was.  Did  the  grizzly  know 
what  this  shadow-thing  was,  and  was  all  this  just 
jolly  make-believe?  In  any  case,  he  was  playing 
and  playing  merrily.  When  I  first  watched  him  he 
reminded  me  of  a  kitten,  but  the  longer  he  played 
the  more  his  actions  resembled  those  of  a  puppy 
and  finally  those  of  dog. 

As  the  grizzly  backed  slowly  down  the  slope,  he 
watched  the  shadow  following  him,  and  made  a 
feint  as  though  about  to  grab  it,  but  stopped. 
Slowly  he  started  after  the  shadow  up  the  slope, 
then  pursued  it  with  a  rush.  Then,  backing  away 
along  the  side  of  the  slope,  he  watched  the  shadow 
out  of  the  corner  of  his  eye.  He  suddenly  stopped 
and  stood  as  though  thinking;  then  wheeled,  faced 
down  the  slope,  and  looked  off  into  the  distance. 
After  a  second  he  slowly  turned  his  head  and 
looked  over  first  one  shoulder,  then  the  other,  for 
the  shadow.  Finally,  rising,  he  looked  between  his 
legs. 

Leisurely  he  lay  down  with  head  toward  the  sun 

and  put  fore  paws  over  his  eyes  as  though  starting 

a  game  of  hide-and-seek  and  expected  the  shadow 

to  hide.  But  this  may  have  been  to  shut  the  daz- 

148 


zling  sun-glare  from  his  eyes,  for  presently  he 
moved  his  head  to  one  side  to  watch  the  shadow. 

Abruptly  he  ended,  rose  to  his  feet,  and  started 
off  briskly  in  the  direction  he  was  traveling  in 
when  the  blue  shadow  upon  the  snow  coaxed  him 
to  stop  and  play. 

Generally  the  grizzly  plays  alone.  Most  animals 
play  with  one  or  many  others  of  their  species. 
Three  or  four  times  I  have  seen  a  lone  grizzly  play- 
ing much  after  the  manner  of  a  dog  —  playing 
with  himself  as  it  were.  He  ran  round  and  round  in 
a  small  circle,  alternating  this  with  leaping  into  the 
air  and  dodging  about,  and  rolling  on  his  back  with 
feet  waving  in  the  air.  He  ended  the  play  with  a 
lively  and  enthusiastic  chase  of  his  tail. 

The  two  cubs  that  I  raised  were  always  eager 
for  play.  They  played  with  each  other,  they  were 
ready  at  all  times  to  play  with  me,  and  occasion- 
ally one  of  them  played  with  my  dog  Scotch.  Griz- 
zlies in  captivity  will  sometimes  play  with  their 
keeper.  Perhaps  they  would  do  so  more  frequently 
if  they  liked  the  keeper.  Sometimes  pet  bears  will 
play  with  strangers.  They  are  ready  to  seize  an 
opportunity  for  brief  play  and  in  this,  as  with 
the  man  who  was  impersonating  bears,  they 
149 


often  show  a  sense  of  humor;  and  they  some- 
times imitate  or  mock  the  actions  of  some  other 
animal. 

An  outing  in  northwestern  Arizona  gave  me 
fresh  glimpses  into  grizzly  life,  although  I  had  not 
expected  to  see  grizzlies.  I  found  them  apparently 
at  home  with  heat  and  sand  in  the  edge  of  a  desert. 
Perhaps  these  bears  were  only  visitors.  They  were 
not  dwarfed  by  the  harsh  conditions  but  appeared 
similar  to  grizzlies  of  other  localities. 

I  was  sheltered  to  the  leeward  of  a  rock-outcrop 
waiting  for  a  roaring  desert  windstorm  to  subside. 
As  I  looked  off  into  the  dusty  distance,  a  brown, 
dust-covered  grizzly  came  into  view.  He  climbed 
up  and  sat  down  upon  a  large  sand-dune  and 
looked  around  evidently  glad  that  things  were 
clearing.  He  watched  closely  a  dust  spiral  which 
came  spinning  across  the  clear  sky.  As  it  passed 
close  to  him,  a  withered  cactus-lobe  dropped  from 
it  upon  the  dune,  turned  over  once  or  twice,  and 
then  rolled  down  the  slope.  The  grizzly  took  after 
it,  striking  out  with  right  fore  paw;  but,  missing, 
was  upon  it  with  a  plunge.  Picking  the  cactus  up 
cautiously  in  his  teeth,  he  held  it  for  a  second,  then 
with  a  jerk  of  his  head  tossed  it  into  the  air  and 
150 


pursued  it.  The  sloping  sand-dune  caved  and  slid 
beneath  him.  Forgetting  the  cactus,  he  leaped 
along  the  crumbling  sand  and  made  a  number  of 
lunges,  each  followed  by  a  dive  and  an  abrupt  stop 
on  the  sand.  He  ran  in  a  circle  round  the  crest  of 
the  dune  several  times,  occasionally  coming  to  a 
sudden  stop.  Then,  sliding  down  the  dune,  sud- 
denly stopped  his  play. 

He  stood  still  at  the  foot  of  the  dune  for  several 
seconds  and  looked  off  into  the  distance.  He  was 
debating  what  he  should  do  next.  Off  he  started 
slowly  toward  the  horizon.  Into  the  edge  of  the 
mysterious  landscape  of  a  mirage  he  walked  and 
vanished.  I  thought  him  lost  and  rose  to  move  on, 
when  a  purple  shadowy  landscape  pushed  up  into 
the  sky  and  in  this  strange,  dim  scene  a  giant  shad- 
owy grizzly  raced  and  played. 

Play  is  a  common  habit  of  animals.  Darwin, 
Wallace,  and  others  have  emphasized  its  impor- 
tance as  a  progressive  evolutionary  factor  in  the 
survival  of  the  fittest.  Play  is  rest  and  relaxation; 
it  gives  power  and  proficiency;  it  stimulates  the 
brain  to  the  highest  pitch  of  keenness  and  arouses 
all  the  faculties  to  be  eager  and  at  their  best;  it  de- 
velops the  individual.  Play  not  only  is  a  profound 


advantage  to  the  player,  but  is  necessary  to  the  re- 
quirements of  an  efficient  life. 

All  alert  animals  freshen  themselves  with  play. 
The  human  race  is  beginning  to  do  intelligently 
what  it  once  did  instinctively;  it  is  relearning  the 
lost  art,  the  triumphant  habit,  of  play. 


IN  April,  1904,  "Old  Mose,"  an  outlaw  grizzly, 
was  killed  on  Black  Mountain,  Colorado.  For 
thirty-five  years  he  had  kept  up  his  cattle-killing 
depredations.  During  this  time  he  was  often  seen 
and  constantly  hunted,  and  numerous  attempts 
were  made  to  trap  him.  His  home  territory  was 
about  seventy-five  miles  in  diameter  and  lay  across 
the  Continental  Divide.  He  regularly  killed  cattle, 
horses,  sheep,  and  hogs  in  this  territory,  and,  so 
far  as  known,  did  not  leave  this  region  even  briefly. 
Two  missing  toes  on  his  left  hind  foot  were  the 
means  of  identifying  his  track. 

Old  Mose  killed  at  least  five  men  and  eight  hun- 
dred cattle,  together  with  dozens  of  colts'and  other 
live  stock.  His  damage  must  have  exceeded  thirty 
thousand  dollars.  Often  he  smashed  the  fences  that 
were  in  his  way.  He  had  a  fiendish  habit  of  slipping 
up  on  campers  or  prospectors,  then  rushing  into 
their  camp  with  a  roar,  and  he  evidently  enjoyed 
155 


the  stampedes  thus  caused.  On  these  occasions  he 
made  no  attempt  to  attack.  Although  he  slaugh- 
tered stock  to  excess,  he  never  went  out  and  at- 
tacked people.  The  five  men  whom  he  killed  were 
men  who  had  cornered  him  and  were  attempting 
to  kill  him. 

Rarely  do  grizzlies  kill  cattle  or  big  game.  Old 
Mose  was  an  exception.  None  of  the  other  grizzlies 
in  the  surrounding  mountains  killed  live  stock. 
During  his  last  years  Old  Mose  was  followed  at  a 
distance  by  a  "cinnamon"  bear  of  large  size.  This 
grizzly  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  killing,  never 
associated  with  Old  Mose,  but  simply  fed  on  the 
abundance  which  he  left  behind. 

A  heavy  price  on  his  head  led  the  most  skillful 
hunters  and  trappers  to  try  for  Old  Mose.  Three 
of  the  best  hunters  were  killed  by  him.  All  trap- 
ping schemes  failed ;  so,  too,  did  attempts  to  poison. 
Finally  he  was  cornered  by  a  pack  of  dogs,  and  the 
hunter  ended  his  career  with  the  eighth  shot. 

Though  Old  Mose  was  forty  or  more  years  of 
age  when  killed,  his  teeth  were  sound,  his  fur  was  in 
good  condition,  and  he  had  every  appearance  of 
being  in  excellent  health.  He  was  apparently  good 
for  several  years  more  of  vigorous  life. 
156 


Witts  ini$  #e 

Trapping  the  grizzly  has  become  a  non-essential 
occupation.  It  is  a  waste  of  energy,  because  rarely 
successful.  Now  and  then  a  bear  is  trapped,  but  it 
is  usually  a  young  bear  of  but  little  experience,  a 
mother  who  is  trying  to  protect  her  cubs,  or  a  bear 
whose  momentary  curiosity  caused  him  to  forget 
his  customary  caution. 

Formerly  it  was  not  difficult  to  trap  a  grizzly. 
But  he  quickly  learned  to  avoid  the  menace  of 
traps.  The  bear  sees  through  all  the  camouflage  of 
the  trapper.  Deodorized  and  concealed  traps, 
traps  near  the  bait  and  far  from  it,  traps  placed 
singly  and  in  clusters  —  these,  and  even  the  slen- 
der concealed  string  of  a  spring  gun,  he  usually  de- 
tects and  avoids. 

I  spent  a  number  of  days  with  a  trapper  who  felt 
certain  that  he  would  secure  the  thousand-dollar 
reward  for  the  capture  of  an  outlaw  cattle-killing 
grizzly.  Earlier  than  usual  the  cattlemen  drove  the 
cattle  from  the  summer  range.  The  trapper  took 
an  old  cow  to  a  selected  spot  near  the  end  of  a 
gulch,  picketed  her,  and  surrounded  her  with 
spring  guns  and  traps.  The  outer  line  of  defense 
consisted  of  three  spring  guns  which  guarded  three 
avenues  of  approach  to  the  cow.  The  strings  to 
157 


these  guns  were  of  silk  line  stretched  over  bushes 
and  tall  grass  so  as  to  be  inconspicuous.  As  the  bear 
would  be  likely  to  seize  the  cow's  head  or  neck,  a 
trap  was  set  between  her  head  and  a  large  bowlder 
near  by.  There  was  a  trap  on  each  side  of  the  cow 
and  one  behind  her. 

The  first  night  there  was  a  light  fall  of  snow,  but 
no  bear.  But  the  second  night  he  came.  Tracks 
showed  that  he  scented  or  heard  the  cow  from  afar 
—  more  than  a  mile  away  —  and  came  straight 
for  her.  He  stopped  within  two  feet  of  the  silk  line 
and  walked  cautiously  round  it  until  he  com- 
pleted the  circuit.  But  there  was  no  opening.  He 
then  leaped  the  line  —  something  I  had  never  be- 
fore heard  of  a  bear  doing.  He  approached  the  cow, 
then  walked  round  her;  he  went  close  to  the  traps 
and  detected  just  where  each  one  was  concealed. 
Then,  between  the  trap  in  front  and  the  one  on  the 
left,  he  seized  and  killed  the  cow.  After  feeding  on 
her  he  dragged  the  carcass  across  two  traps  and 
left  it.  Leaping  the  line  again,  he  went  off  down 
stream  in  the  gulch. 

The  trapper  reset  the  traps  the  following  day 
and  placed  an  additional  one  just  inside  the  line,  at 
the  point  where  the  grizzly  had  leaped  over  it. 
158 


Then,  some  distance  down  stream,  he  strung  a  line 
across  the  gulch  and  attached  a  spring  gun  to  one 
end  of  the  line. 

The  grizzly  returned  that  night,  coming  down 
the  gulch.  After  walking  the  lines  around  the  car- 
cass, and  apparently  having  detected  the  new  trap 
inside,  he  leaped  the  line  at  another  point.  He 
avoided  the  traps  and  ate  about  half  the  remainder 
of  the  carcass.  Then  he  piled  a  few  dead  logs  on 
what  was  left,  leaped  the  line  again,  and  went 
down  the  gulch.  He  stopped  within  ten  or  twelve 
feet  of  the  line  here  and  followed  it  along  to  where 
it  connected  with  the  rifle  on  the  side  of  the  gulch. 
Walking  round  the  rifle,  he  went  back  into  the 
gulch  and  followed  his  trail  of  the  preceding  night. 

The  trapper,  amazed,  vowed  vengeance.  He 
made  haste  and  built  a  log  pen  around  the  remains 
of  the  carcass.  He  then  set  two  traps  in  the  en- 
trance of  the  pen,  one  in  front  of  the  entrance  and 
one  inside  the  pen. 

The  second  night  following,  the  bear  returned, 

leaped  over  the  line,  and  cautiously  approached 

the  pen.  The  bowlder  formed  part  of  the  rear  end  of 

this.  Climbing  on  top  of  the  bowlder,  the  bear  tore 

.  off  the  upper  part  of  the  pen,  which  rested  on  the 

159 


bowlder,  and  then,  from  the  bowlder,  without  get- 
ting into  the  pen,  reached  down  and  dragged  up 
the  carcass.  In  doing  this  one  of  the  poles  which 
had  been  torn  out  of  place  and  thrown  to  one  side 
struck  the  top  of  a  stump,  turned  over,  and  fell 
across  the  line  attached  to  a  spring  gun.  This  fired 
its  waiting  shot.  Then  the  grizzly  did  this  astound- 
ing thing.  He  appears  to  have  been  on  top  of  the 
bowlder  when  the  shot  was  fired,  but  he  descended, 
made  his  way  to  the  smelly  gun,  and  then  exam- 
ined it,  the  snow  being  tracked  up  in  front  of  it. 
Returning  to  the  carcass,  he  dragged  it  off  the 
bowlder  and  ate  the  last  mouthful.  Leaving  the 
bones  where  they  lay,  he  walked  across  the  line 
where  the  pole  rested  on  it  and  went  off  up  the 
gulch. 

A  grizzly  is  wary  for  the  preservation  of  his  life. 
It  is  generally  a  triumph  of  stalking  to  get  within 
short  range  of  him.  His  senses  detect  danger  afar. 
He  will  sometimes  hear  the  stealthy  approach  of  a 
hunter  at  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and 
under  favorable  conditions  he  will  scent  a  man  at  a 
distance  of  a  mile  or  more.  Being  ever  on  guard, 
and  generally  in  a  place  where  he  can  scout  with 
scent,  sight,  or  hearing,  he  usually  manages  to 
160 


keep  out  of  range  or  under  cover.  It  is  not  uncom- 
mon for  two  or  three  hunters  in  different  parts  of 
bear  territory,  searching  with  field-glasses,  watch- 
ing from  high  places,  taking  advantage  of  the  wind, 
and  moving  silently,  to  spend  a  week  without  even 
seeing  a  bear,  although  bears  were  about.  Many 
times,  even  when  trailed  with  dogs,  through  his 
brains,  his  endurance,  and  his  ability  to  move  rap- 
idly over  rough  territory,  the  grizzly  escapes  being 
cornered. 

I  have  often  been  in  bear  territory  for  days  with- 
out seeing  one.  Then  again  I  have  seen  two  or  more 
in  a  few  hours.  Frequently  I  have  been  able  to 
watch  a  grizzly  at  moderately  short  range  for  an 
hour  or  longer.  I  was  chiefly  concerned  to  get  near 
enough  to  study  his  actions,  and  not  to  take  a  shot, 
as  I  trailed  without  a  gun.  But  many  a  day  I  have 
failed  to  see  a  grizzly,  though  I  searched  carefully 
in  a  territory  which  I  knew  and  where  the  habits  of 
the  individual  bears  were  somewhat  known  to  me. 

A  grizzly  territory  is  covered  with  a  web  of  dim 
trails  over  which  he  usually  travels.  If  surprised,  the 
grizzly  turns  and  retreats  over  the  trail  on  which 
he  was  advancing.  A  bear's  trail,  close  behind  him, 
is  a  dangerous  place  to  be  in  if  he  does  retreat. 
161 


Many  a  hunter,  a  few  feet  off  the  trail,  has  had  the 
alarmed  bear  rush  by  without  noticing  him,  while 
others,  who  were  directly  on  the  trail,  have  been 
run  over  or  assailed  by  the  bear. 

When  in  a  trap  or  cornered,  a  wounded  grizzly 
sometimes  feigns  death.  Apparently,  when  he  con- 
siders his  situation  desperate,  he  sees  in  this  method 
the  possibility  of  throwing  his  assailant  off  his 
guard.  A  trapper  once  invited  me  to  go  the  rounds 
with  him  along  his  string  of  traps.  In  one  of  these 
was  a  young  grizzly.  At  short  range  the  hunter  fired 
two  shots  and  the  bear  fell  in  a  heap. 

We  advanced  within  a  few  feet  and  saw  that  the 
bear  was  bleeding  freely,  but  halted  "to  be  sure  he 
was  dead."  "I  make  it  a  point,"  said  the  hunter, "  to 
wait  until  a  bear  dies  before  I  start  skinning  him. 
Once  I  made  the  mistake  of  putting  down  my  rifle 
and  starting  to  skin  the  bear  before  he  was  dead." 

We  stepped  forward,  and  the  hunter  prodded 
the  bear  with  the  end  of  the  rifle-barrel.  Like  a 
jumping-jack  the  bear  sprang  at  the  hunter, 
knocked  him  over  backwards,  tore  a  hole  through 
his  clothing,  and  ripped  a  bad  wound  in  his  skin  on 
the  thigh.  Fortunately  the  chain  and  clog  on  the 
trap  held  the  bear  from  following  up  his  assault. 
162 


On  another  occasion  I  was  with  a  party  of 
mounted  hunters  with  dogs  who  chased  a  grizzly 
out  of  his  territory  and  cornered  him  in  a  deep  box 
canon.  He  was  at  bay  and  the  excited  dogs  were 
harrying  him  as  we  came  up.  He  stood  in  the  end  of 
the  canon,  facing  out,  evidently  watching  for  an 
opportunity  to  escape.  He  discouraged  all  attacks 
by  his  swift  and  cool-headed  defense.  If  a  bush 
stirred  behind  he  made  a  feint  to  strike.  If  a  dog 
came  close  to  his  side  he  appeared  to  strike  without 
looking.  He  did  not  allow  any  rear  movements  or 
attacks  to  divert  his  attention  from  the  front, 
where  the  hunters  stood  at  short  range  with  rifles 
ready.  They  waited  for  a  chance  to  shoot  without 
hitting  a  dog.  Suddenly  the  grizzly  charged  and  all 
was  confusion.  With  a  stroke  of  fore  paw  he  broke 
the  jaw  of  one  horse,  with  another  stroke  he  caved 
in  three  ribs  of  another  horse,  he  bit  and  broke  a 
man's  arm,  disemboweled  one  dog  and  wrecked 
another,  and  made  his  safe  get-away.  Not  a  shot 
had  been  fired.  There  was  no  pursuit. 

While  with  three  hunters,  I  once  came  close  upon 

a  grizzly  who  was  digging  for  mice.  The  hunters 

opened  fire.  For  seconds  the  canon  walls  crashed 

and  echoed  from  the  resounding  rattling  gunnery. 

163 


Thirty  or  forty  shots  were  fired.  The  bear  escaped. 
A  hunter  took  up  the  trail  and  the  following  day 
ran  down  the  bear  and  killed  him.  He  carried  no 
wounds  except  the  one  from  the  shot  fired  by  this 
hunter.  He  weighed  perhaps  five  hundred  pounds. 

But  the  story  of  the  shooting  as  told  by  one  of 
the  first  three  hunters  was  something  like  this: 
"We  came  upon  the  largest  grizzly  that  I  had  ever 
seen.  He  must  have  weighed  fifteen  hundred  pounds 
or  more.  He  was  busy  digging  hi  an  opening  and 
did  n't  see  us  until  we  opened  on  him  at  short 
range.  As  we  had  time,  we  aimed  carefully,  and  each 
of  us  got  in  several  shots  before  he  reached  the 
woods.  He  ran  with  as  much  strength  as  if  nothing 
had  happened ;  yet  we  simply  filled  him  full  of  lead 
—  made  a  regular  lead  mine  of  him." 

The  grizzly  is  not  an  exceedingly  difficult  animal 
to  kill  if  shot  in  a  vital  spot  —  in  the  upper  part  of 
the  heart,  in  the  brain,  or  through  the  centre  of  the 
shoulder  into  the  spine.  Hunters  too  often  fire 
aimlessly,  or  become  so  frightened  that  they  do  not 
even  succeed  in  hitting  the  bear,  though  firing  shot 
after  shot  in  his  general  direction. 

William  H.  Wright  once  killed  five  bears  with 
five  shots  in  rapid  succession.  I  was  with  a  hunter 
164 


in  a  berry-patch  when  four  grizzlies  fell  with  four 
lightning-like  shots.  George  McClelland  in  Wyo- 
ming killed  nine  bears  inside  of  a  minute.  He  prob- 
ably fired  sixteen  shots.  These  were  grizzlies,  two 
of  which  were  cubs. 

During  the  last  few  seconds  of  his  life,  after  the 
grizzly  receives  a  fatal  wound,  he  sometimes  fights 
in  an  amazingly  effective  and  deadly  manner.  As 
an  old  bear-hunter  once  said,  "the  grizzly  is  likely 
to  do  a  lot  of  execution  after  he  is  nominally  dead." 
Hundreds  of  hunters  have  been  wounded  and 
scores  of  others  killed  by  grizzlies  which  they  were 
trying  to  kill  or  capture.  Hundreds  of  others  have 
escaped  death  or  serious  injury  by  extremely  nar- 
row margins. 

A  grizzly  appears  to  have  caused  the  death  of  the 
first  white  man  to  die  within  the  bounds  of  Colo- 
rado. This  happened  on  the  plains  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  State.  Seeing  the  grizzly  in  the  willows 
near  camp,  the  man  went  out  to  kill  him.  The 
wounded  grizzly  knocked  him  down  and  mauled 
him  so  severely  that  he  died. 

In  southern  Colorado  I  saw  a  frightened  hunter 
on  horseback  pursued  by  a  mother  grizzly.  He  was 
chasing  her  cubs,  when  she  suddenly  charged  him. 
165 


The  horse  wheeled  and  ran.  Although  the  hunter 
urged  the  horse  to  its  utmost,  the  bear  was  almost 
upon  them  when  his  dogs  rushed  in  and  distracted 
her. 

Hunters  claim  that  if  a  man  feign  death  when 
knocked  down  by  a  grizzly  he  is  not  likely  to  be  in- 
jured. James  Capen  Adams  appears  to  have  saved 
himself  a  number  of  times  by  this  method.  I  have 
not  had  occasion  to  try  the  experiment. 
;  An  old  bear-hunter  told  me  that  he  once  saved 
himself  from  what  seemed  to  be  certain  death,  in 
a  most  unusual  manner.  A  grizzly  knocked  him 
sprawling,  then  leaped  upon  him  to  chew  him  up. 
In  falling,  however,  the  hunter  had  grabbed  up  a 
stone.  With  this  he  struck  the  bear  a  smashing 
blow  on  the  tip  of  his  nose  as  the  bear  landed  upon 
him.  The  bear  backed  off  with  a  roar  of  pain.  This 
gave  the  hunter  opportunity  to  seize  his  rifle  and 
fire  a  fatal  shot. 

Three  or  four  men  who  have  been  severely  bitten 
and  shaken  by  grizzlies  have  testified  that  they  felt 
no  pain  at  the  time  from  these  injuries.  I  cannot 
account  for  this.  Livingstone,  the  African  explorer, 
also  states  that  he  felt  no  pain  when  a  lion  was 
.chewing  him. 

166 


I  once  witnessed  a  grizzly-roping  in  Montana 
that  had  rare  fighting  and  adventure  in  it.  Two 
cowboys  pursued  a  grizzly  nearly  to  camp,  when 
several  others  came  riding  out  with  whirling  ropes 
seeking  fun.  They  roped  the  bear;  but  a  horse  was 
pulled  off  his  feet  and  dragged,  a  cowboy  was 
ditched  into  a  bunch  of  cactus,  another  cowboy 
lost  his  saddle,  the  cinches  giving  way  under  the 
strain,  and  a  horse  struck  in  the  flank  had  to  be 
shot.  Meantime  the  bear  got  away  and  stampeded 
the  entire  herd  of  cattle.  ., 

Bear  stories  have  a  fascination  all  their  own. 
Here  is  one  of  five  men  who  were  hunting  in  north- 
western Montana,  a  section  of  high  and  rugged 
mountain-peaks,  snow-fields,  and  glaciers,  well- 
nigh  inaccessible,  and  wholly  uninhabited  save  by 
wild  animals.  Two  of  the  men  went  off  to  a  distant 
glacier-basin  for  big  game,  separating  and  going  on 
opposite  sides  of  a  ridge.  One  of  them  after  a  steep 
climb  came  upon  a  grizzly  cub,  so  large  as  to  ap- 
pear full-grown  except  to  the  most  careful  ob- 
server. He  killed  the  bear  with  three  cartridges 
from  his  Mauser  rifle,  and  then,  leaning  the  rifle 
against  a  rock,  stooped  over  to  examine  his  prize. 
Suddenly  he  heard  a  fearsome  cry  and  a  swift  rush. 
167 


Turning,  he  saw  the  mother  bear  coming  for  him 
and  not  more  than  sixty  feet  away. 

Springing  to  his  rifle,  he  put  two  steel-clad  bul- 
lets into  the  grizzly,  emptying  his  gun.  With  re- 
markable coolness  he  slipped  in  another  cartridge 
and  sent  a  third  bullet  into  her.  But  Mauser  bul- 
lets are  small  and  an  enraged  grizzly  is  a  hard 
thing  to  stop.  The  three  bullets  did  not  stop  this 
mother  bear,  frantic  at  the  sight  of  her  dead  cub. 
With  one  stroke  of  her  paw  she  knocked  the  hunter 
into  a  gulch,  eight  feet  below.  Then  she  sprang 
down  after  him,  caught  him  in  her  mouth,  shook 
him  as  a  dog  might  shake  a  doll,  and  dropped  him. 
She  caught  him  up  again,  his  face  between  her 
tusks,  shook  him,  and  again  dropped  him.  A  third 
time  she  snatched  him  up.  But  now  the  little 
Mauser  bullets  had  done  their  work,  and  she  fell 
dead  across  the  hunter's  feet. 

It  was  high  time,  for  the  man  was  in  little  better 
condition  than  the  bear.  His  scalp  and  cheek  and 
throat  were  torn  open,  there  were  five  gaping 
wounds  in  his  chest,  his  thigh  bore  an  irregular  tear 
two  or  three  inches  wide  from  which  the  flesh  hung 
in  ragged  strips,  and  his  left  wrist  was  broken  and 
the  bones  protruding  through  the  twisted  flesh. 
168 


His  companion,  alarmed  by  the  six  shots,  hurried 
to  the  hunter.  He  bound  up  his  wounds,  set  him  on 
a  horse,  guided  him  for  two  hours  across  country 
without  a  trail,  and  got  him  to  camp  at  nightfall. 
But  to  save  the  man's  life  it  was  necessary  to  get 
him  to  the  railroad  in  short  order.  He  was  put  on  a 
horse  with  a  man  on  each  side  to  support  him,  and 
for  eleven  hours  the  party  climbed  down  the  five 
miles  through  forest  and  jungle,  cutting  their  way 
as  they  went.  At  dark,  completely  exhausted,  they 
flagged  a  limited  train.  The  hunter  was  hurried  to 
a  hospital  and  operated  upon  and  his  life  saved. 

The  man  with  a  gun  is  a  specialist.  He  is  looking 
for  a  particular  thing  in  order  to  kill  it.  Generally 
the  gun  hampers  full  enjoyment  of  the  wilderness. 
The  hunter  misses  most  of  the  beauty  and  the  glory 
of  the  trail.  If  he  stops  to  enjoy  the  pranks  of  other 
animals,  or  to  notice  the  color  of  cloud  or  flower,  he 
will  miss  his  opportunity  to  secure  his  game.  When 
at  last  he  is  within  range  of  a  bear,  it  may  scent 
him  and  be  off  at  any  minute,  so  he  must  shoot  at  • 
once.  He  learns  but  little  of  the  character  of  the 
animal. 

Trailing  the  grizzly  without  a  gun  is  the  very 
acme  of  hunting.  The  gunless  hunter  comes  up 
169 


dose,  but  he  lingers  to  watch  the  bear  and  perhaps 
her  cubs.  He  sees  them  play.  Often,  too,  he  has 
the  experience  of  seeing  wilderness  etiquette  when 
other  bears  or  animals  come  into  the  scene.  The 
information  that  he  gathers  and  his  enjoyment  ex- 
cel those  obtained  by  the  man  with  a  gun. 

Roosevelt  has  said  and  shown  that  the  hunter 
whose  chief  interest  is  in  shooting  has  but  little  out 
of  the  hunt.  Audubon  did  a  little  shooting  for  speci- 
mens. Wright  had  as  many  thrills  with  the  camera 
as  with  the  rifle.  Adams  was  far  happier  and  more 
useful  with  his  live  grizzlies  than  he  was  killing 
other  grizzlies.  Emerson  McMillin  was  satisfied  to 
hunt  without  either  gun  or  camera.  The  words  and 
sketches  of  Ernest  Thompson  Seton  have  given  us 
much  of  the  artistic  side  of  the  wilderness.  Dr. 
Frank  M.  Chapman  explored  two  continents  for  the 
facts  of  bird-lore  and  in  addition  to  his  books  pre- 
pared the  magnificent  bird-groups  in  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History.  Thoreau  enjoyed  life 
in  the  wilderness  without  a  gun.  But  John  Muir 
was  the  supreme  wilderness  hunter  and  wanderer. 
He  never  carried  a  gun.  Usually  he  was  in  the  wilds 
alone.  He  spent  years  in  a  grizzly  bear  country. 
But  the  wealth  of  nature-lore  with  which  he  en- 
170 


riched  his  books  make  him  the  Shakespeare  of  na- 
ture. 

The  man  without  a  gun  can  enjoy  every  scene  of 
nature  along  his  way.  He  has  time  to  turn  aside  for 
other  animals,  or  to  stop  and  watch  any  one  of  the 
countless  unexpected  wild-life  exhibitions  that  are 
ever  appearing.  Then,  too,  he  hears  the  many  calls 
and  sounds,  the  music  of  the  wilds.  The  wild  places, 
especially  in  grizzly  bear  land,  are  crowded  with 
plants  and  with  exhibitions  of  the  manners  and  the 
customs  of  animals,  and  are  rich  in  real  nature 
stories  being  lived  with  all  their  charm  and  their 
dramatic  changes. 


Curiosity  T&i 


THE  grizzly  bear  has  the  most  curiosity  of 
any  animal  that  I  have  watched.  As  curiosity 
arises  from  the  desire  to  know,  it  appears  that  the 
superior  mentality  of  the  grizzly  may  be  largely 
due  to  the  alertness  which  curiosity  sustains. 

Although  the  grizzly  has  learned  the  extreme 
danger  of  exposing  himself  near  man,  yet,  at  times, 
all  his  vigilant  senses  are  temporarily  hypnotized 
by  curiosity.  On  rare  occasions  it  betrays  him  into 
trouble,  or  lands  a  cub  in  a  trap.  In  old  bears  curi- 
osity is  accompanied  with  a  keenness  of  observa- 
vation  and  a  caution  that  enable  him  to  satisfy  his 
desire  for  information  without  exposure  to  danger. 
Often  it  enables  him  to  anticipate  a  concealed  dan- 
ger —  to  penetrate  the  camouflage  of  something 
dangerous.  Curiosity  prevents  oncoming  events 
from  being  thrust  on  the  curious.  It  is  an  effort 
to  obtain  advance  information  instead  of  taking 
things  as  they  come. 

In  1826  Drummond,  the  botanist,  collected 
plants  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  In  stopping  to  ex- 
175 


amine,  to  gather,  and  to  press  them  he  was  doing 
the  unusual.  He  thus  attracted  the  attention  of 
numerous  grizzlies,  who  even  came  close  to  watch 
him.  They  showed  no  inclination  to  attack.  Bears 
are  "chock-full  of  curiosity"  and  will  sometimes 
forget  to  eat  in  trying  to  understand  at  once  the 
new  or  the  unusual. 

Lewis  and  Clark  tell  of  a  bear  on  a  sand-bar  who 
showed  interest  in  their  boat  as  it  passed.  He 
raised  himself  on  hind  feet  and  looked  after  them, 
and  then  plunged  into  the  river  and  swam  toward 
the  boat.  This  novel  outfit  should  have  attracted 
the  attention  of  any  living  thing,  and  a  curious 
grizzly  must  have  been  almost  overcome  with  won- 
der. Yet  the  explorers  erroneously  assumed  that 
this  intense  curiosity  and  consequent  attempt  for 
closer  inspection  was  evidence  of  ferocity.  During 
the  first  fifty  years  of  the  white  man's  contact  with 
the  grizzly,  the  bear  frequently  came  close  to  a 
man  or  a  camp  for  a  better  look ;  most  frontiersmen 
thought  this  near  approach  was  ferocity  in  the 
bear.  Often  the  bear  was  greeted  with  bullets,  and 
in  due  time  he  learned  to  satisfy  his  curiosity  by 
stealth  instead  of  by  direct  approach.  But  inquisi- 
tive he  still  is. 

176 


(Curiosity  Tin 


In  crossing  the  mountains  in  northern  New 
Mexico  I  was  overtaken  by  a  Swede  on  his  way  to  a 
lumber-camp.  He  carried  a  pack,  and  a  part  of  it 
was  an  accordion.  We  made  camp  that  night  near 
the  head  of  a  gulch.  Across  from  us  a  treeless  moun- 
tain rose  a  thousand  feet. 

After  supper  the  Swede  played  on  his  accordion 
and  was  soon  lost  in  music.  Pausing  in  my  note- 
making  to  enjoy  his  contented  expression,  I  saw  an 
old  grizzly  watching  us  from  across  the  mountain. 
Standing  upon  a  bowlder,  he  was  looking  over  the 
tops  of  the  spruce  trees  that  thrust  up  out  of  the 
gulch.  Through  my  field-glasses  he  appeared  even 
more  lost  in  wonder  at  the  music  than  the  enthusi- 
astic, emotional  player.  When  the  refrain  died  away, 
the  grizzly  climbed  down  off  the  bowlder,  and  then, 
as  another  piece  was  begun,  at  once  rose  to  re- 
mount, but  instead  stood  with  fore  paws  against 
the  bowlder,  listening.  By  and  by  he  started  up  the 
mountain,  pausing  every  few  steps  to  turn  and  lis- 
ten. He  either  stood  broadside,  his  head  tilted  side- 
ways, or  raised  himself  on  tiptoe,  fascinated.  A  loud, 
lively,  clashing  close  to  one  piece  started  him  off  on 
a  gallop,  but  as  soon  as  the  music  stopped  the  bear 
paused.  He  appeared  puzzled  and  fidgeted  about 
177 


while  the  player  sat  silent,  listening  to  my  descrip- 
tion of  the  bear's  movements.  A  soft  and  melodious 
piece  was  next  played.  The  bear,  as  the  first  strain 
sounded  on  the  evening  air,  seated  himself  on  his 
haunches  facing  us,  and  thus  remained  until  the 
piece  was  finished.  Then  he  climbed  higher  up  the 
mountain  and,  on  reaching  the  sky-line,  walked 
lingering  along  in  the  last  rays  of  the  sun,  looking 
down  on  us  now  and  then  as  though  wanting  more 
music. 

For  two  or  three  hours  I  watched  a  number  of 
water-ouzels  in  the  St.  Vrain  River.  They  often 
came  within  three  or  four  feet  of  where  I  sat  on  the 
bank  with  my  back  against  a  large  bowlder.  To 
avoid  frightening  them,  I  sat  motionless,  not  turn- 
ing even  my  head  for  an  hour  or  more  at  a  time.  I 
was  enjoying  their  actions,  when  suddenly  I  caught 
the  distinct  odor  of  a  bear.  While  still  motionless 
and  wondering  further  about  this  new  interest,  I 
heard  the  faint  crack  of  a  stick  behind  me.  Turning 
my  head  at  this  sound,  I  saw  a  grizzly  raised  on 
hind  legs  with  fore  paws  resting  on  top  of  the  bowl- 
der against  which  I  was  leaning.  He  looked  at  me 
with  intense  interest,  all  caution  forgotten.  His 
curiosity  absolutely  dominated.  But  my  slight 
178. 


<Curiofirtfg  Wine 


movement  had  aroused  him.  In  two  seconds  from 
the  time  I  turned  he  was  crashing  off  through  the 
thicket  and  probably  was  condemning  himself  for 
being  so  curious. 

One  Sunday  afternoon  one  of  the  men  in  a  lum- 
ber-camp rigged  up  a  canvas  hammock  from  the 
remnants  of  an  old  tent  and  suspended  it  between 
two  trees.  A  pet  grizzly  who  belonged  at  the  camp 
watched  him  with  curious  interest  while  he  worked. 
She  observed  him  with  still  greater  interest  as  he 
stretched  himself  out  in  it  and  began  reading.When 
the  man  deserted  the  hammock,  she  walked  up  to 
it,  struck  it,  pushed  it  back  and  forth  with  fore 
paws,  and  then  began  rather  awkwardly  to  climb 
into  it.  She  had  almost  succeeded,  when  her  weight 
upon  the  edge  caused  it  to  tip  over  and  spill  her  on 
the  ground.  She  leaped  back  surprised,  then  walked 
round  the  hammock,  eyeing  it  with  great  curiosity. 
But  the  second  attempt  at  climbing  into  the  ham- 
mock was  successful,  and  she  made  a  most  comical 
and  awkward  sight  stretched  out  in  it  flat  upon  her 
back. 

I  came  upon  a  grizzly  on  the  heights  above  the 
timber-line  watching  the  progress  of  a  forest  fire. 
Squatted  on  his  haunches  like  a  dog,  he  was  in- 
179 


tently  watching  the  fire-front  below.  A  deep  roar  at 
one  place,  high  leaping  flames  at  another,  a  vast 
smoke-cloud  at  another  caused  him  to  turn  toward 
each  with  rapt  attention.  He  followed  with  eager 
eyes,  also,  the  swiftly  advancing  cloud-shadows  as 
they  mysteriously  rushed  forward  over  ridge  and 
valley.  So  intent  was  he  that  none  of  his  keen  senses 
warned  him  of  my  presence,  though  I  stood  near  for 
two  or  three  minutes,  watching  him.  When  I  called 
he  slowly  turned  his  head.  He  stared  at  me  in  a 
half-dazed  manner,  then  angrily  showed  his  teeth. 
After  another  second  he  fled  like  a  frightened  rabbit. 

The  actions  of  a  fisherman  were  being  followed 
with  the  closest  attention  by  a  grizzly  when  I  came 
along  the  opposite  side  of  a  narrow  canon.,  ,The 
bear  stood  still  for  some  minutes,  all  his  faculties 
concentrated  on  the  fisherman.  Every  cast  of  the 
fly  was  observed  with  the  greatest  interest.  A 
dangling  trout  caused  him  much  excitement.  Pos- 
sibly the  wind,  touched  with  man-scent,  finally 
warned  him  of  danger.  Anyway,  he  suddenly  came 
to  his  senses,  roused  himself,  and  ran  off. 

On  one  of  my  camping-trips  into  the  mountains 
I  carried  a  long  yellow  slicker.  Wearing  this  one 
misty,  half-snowy  day,  I  was  followed  by  a  grizzly. 
180 


Curiosity  TX?in0 

Twice  he  evidently  came  close  to  me;  although  I 
did  not  see  him,  I  scented  him.  When  well  upon  a 
mountain  during  the  afternoon,  I  crossed  an  open 
place  in  the  woods  where  a  breeze  broke  up  the 
low-drifting  clouds.  For  a  moment  I  beheld  a  much 
interested  grizzly  near  by.  He  stood  and  stared  at 
me  with  all  caution  forgotten  in  his  curiosity  about 
the  long  yellow  coat. 

At  dark  I  made  camp  at  timber-line  and  forgot 
about  the  bear.  The  slicker  was  hung  over  a  pole 
against  a  cliff  to  drain  and  dry.  I  went  to  sleep 
about  eleven  o'clock,  after  writing  up  my  notes  and 
watching  my  camp-fire.  During  the  night  the  grizzly 
came  boldly  into  camp,  reared  up,  and  slit  the 
slicker.  My  shoes  near  by  had  not  been  noticed; 
the  bacon  and  raisins  swinging  from  a  limb  had  not 
interested  his  keen  nose.  He  was  interested  only  in 
that  slicker. 

This  was  a  case  where  the  grizzly's  curiosity 
might  have  got  him  into  trouble.  So  intent  was  he 
on  seeing  this  one  thing  that  for  hours  he  had  for- 
gotten food-hunting  and  followed  me;  and  then  in 
order  to  have  a  closer  examination  of  it  he  must 
have  waited  near  my  camp  two  or  three  hours  until 
I  had  lain  down. 

181 


Another  time,  in  the  Yellowstone,  while  I  was 
sleeping  out,  a  big  grizzly  who  had  followed  me  all 
day  came  to  give  me  closer  inspection.  I  was  awak- 
ened by  his  lightly  clawing  my  bed.  I  opened  my 
eyes  and  watched  him  for  some  seconds  and  lay 
perfectly  still  while  he  sniffed  me  over.  After  sev- 
eral seconds  of  this  he  appeared  to  have  satisfied  his 
curiosity  and  walked  quietly  away  beneath  the  stars. 

As  I  was  trying  to  flash  information  with  a  look- 
ing-glass from  Mount  Lincoln  to  a  prospector  down 
in  the  valley  one  day,  a  grizzly  became  attracted 
by  the  flashes  and  lay  down  to  watch  them  circle 
and  shimmer  here  and  there.  In  the  San  Juan 
Mountains  a  prospector  once  lost  a  wheel  from  a 
rude  cart  which  he  was  hauling  up  a  steep,  roadless 
slope.  As  the  detached  wheel  went  bounding  down 
and  across  the  bottom  of  the  gulch,  a  grizzly  hit  an 
attitude  of  attention  and  watched  it.  He  became 
excited  as  it  leaped  and  rushed  up  the  opposite 
slope,  and  when  it  rolled  over  he  approached  cau- 
tiously to  see  what  manner  of  thing  it  might  be.  A 
grizzly  sat  down  on  his  haunches  to  watch  the  un- 
certain movements  of  an  umbrella  which  had  taken 
advantage  of  a  wind-storm  to  desert  a  mountain- 
top  artist.  He  observed  the  disheveled  umbrella 
182 


Curiosity  TUi 


with  the  greatest  enjoyment  as  it  danced  across  the 
moorland,  and  was  particularly  interested  when  a 
whirl  sent  it  high  into  the  air. 

Riding  a  lazy  pony  slowly,  silently,  along  a  trail 
in  the  San  Juan  Mountains,  I  came  close  upon  a 
grizzly  and  three  cubs.  They  aroused  the  deep 
emotional  nature  of  my  pony.  He  took  on  new  and 
fiery  life,  and  in  his  eagerness  to  reach  a  high 
mountain  across  the  canon  he  forgot  all  about  the 
topography  —  the  canon  that  lay  deep  between. 
While  he  was  standing  on  one  hind  foot  on  the 
edge  of  the  canon  I  leaped  from  the  saddle.  The  old 
bear  and  cubs,  forgetting  all  possible  danger,  while 
he  was  thus  performing  stood  up  to  watch  the 
entire  exhibition. 

A  grizzly  keeps  an  eye  on  near-by  animals,  often 
without  appearing  to  do  so.  But  if  the  animal  is 
doing  something  new  or  unusual  he  gives  it  his  en- 
tire attention.  Two  bears,  side  by  side,  are  inter- 
ested in  the  same  thing;  yet  the  individuality  of 
each  will  show  if  you  watch  them  a  minute.  Of 
course,  all  bears  are  not  equally  curious  about  the 
same  thing,  but  seldom  do  I  recall  outwitting  a 
bear  even  when  appealing  to  his  curiosity,  and 
never  could  I  class  him  as  stupid. 
183 


Grizzlies  in  regions  just  invaded  by  white  men 
appear  to  have  put  in  much  time  trying  to  make 
out  what  these  strange  creatures  were  about.  What 
man  is  doing  is  ever  of  first  importance  to  the 
long-lived  grizzly.  His  interest  in  his  surroundings 
appears  to  be  greater  than  that  of  the  average  per- 
son. At  any  rate,  the  grizzly  shows  better  knowl- 
edge of  the  habits  of  human  beings  than  people 
have  of  the  habits  of  bears. 

His  is  not  the  curiosity  of  the  idle;  the  grizzly  is 
not  prying  into  the  affairs  of  others  for  mere  pas- 
time, but  is  concerned  only  so  far  as  these  affairs 
may  benefit  or  harm  him.  His  is  the  intelligent 
curiosity  of  a  mind  seeking  facts.  Most  of  the  time 
he  leads  a  solitary  life ;  he  rarely  exchanges  ideas  or 
information  with  other  bears.  Most  animals  live  in 
pairs  or  flocks  and,  each  gathering  information  for 
all,  they  divide  sentinel  duty;  but  single-handed 
the  grizzly  must  get  the  news,  must  scout  for  him- 
self. He  is  ever  on  the  watch,  does  nothing  blindly, 
and  he  simply  must  understand. 

Any  unusual  occurrence  arouses  a  grizzly's  curi- 
osity, and  is  to  him  "a  word  to  the  wise."  His  suc- 
cess lies  in  constant  alertness.  He  might  well  be 
likened  to  a  frontiersman ;  he  has  that  painstaking 
184 


vigilance,  that  untiring  energy,  which  seeks  to  dis- 
cover whether  this  strange  track,  sound,  or  dis- 
placement is  the  camouflage  which  conceals  the 
enemy  or  if  it  be  a  clue  which  will  lead  to  some- 
thing of  advantage.  He  at  once  endeavors  to  find 
out  all  that  may  be  learned  about  it. 

The  grizzly  bear  may  have  inherited  a  love  for 
exploration.  His  ancestors  were  adventurers,  com- 
ing to  this  continent  from  Asia.  The  natural  attrac- 
tion which  the  new  and  unusual  has  for  him  may 
generally  be  gratified  in  his  curiosity  about  things 
at  home.  But  we  may  readily  imagine  that  the 
grizzly  must  sometimes  become  restless  when  there 
is  nothing  stirring  near  by,  when  he  finds  no  excite- 
ment in  his  home  territory,  and  so  wanders  like  an 
explorer  to  seek  discoveries  in  far-off  scenes.  He  is 
innately  an  adventurer;  he  seeks  adventure  and 
often  finds  it.  His  curiosity  does  not  allow  him  to 
live  in  a  rut  —  to  live  contentedly  with  old  condi- 
tions. He  is  always  learning;  he  keeps  alive  and 
growing. 

The  grizzly  bear  simply  cannot  be  understood, 
nor  half  understood,  if  his  curiosity  is  not  consid- 
ered. Notice  a  grizzly  bear  pet,  observe  a  grizzly  in 
a  zoo,  watch  both  the  cubs  and  the  old  grizzlies  in 
185 


the  Yellowstone  and  Glacier  National  Parks.  They 
walk  about  like  superior  animals,  which  they  are. 
Those  in  parks  ever  notice  any  sudden  movement, 
any  new  figure  in  the  foreground,  and  detect  any 
unusual  noise  that  comes  from  far  away  behind  the 
woods.  The  grizzly  bear  and  the  scout  are  masters 
of  woodcraft  through  intensive  observation.  Be- 
hind the  word  curiosity  the  grizzly  bear  has  put  a 
world  of  meaning. 

The  wild  grizzly  shows  a  deeper  feeling  for  the 
scenes,  the  sounds,  and  the  movements  around 
him  than  any  other  animal  that  I  have  watched. 
Sometimes,  while  thus  interested,  he  sits  on 
haunches  like  a  dog,  again  he  stands  on  all  fours, 
at  other  times  he  stands  on  hind  feet,  tiptoe, 
and,  on  rare  occasions,  he  sits  on  his  tail  with  fore 
paws  against  his  breast,  perhaps  leaning  against 
something.  Once  in  a  while  he  gives  full  attention 
while  lying  down. 

When  looking  at  scenery  and  sunsets,  his  ap- 
pearance is  one  of  enjoyment;  he  appears  to  have 
feeling  in  the  conscious  presence  of  that  which  we 
call  beautiful  or  glorious.  I  have  seen  a  grizzly 
looking  at  a  magnificent  and  many-colored  sunset, 
completely  absorbed.  There  was  no  fear  at  a  flash 
186 


(Curiostf  j> 


of  lightning  or  the  roar  and  echoing  roll  of  thunder. 
Once  I  saw  a  grizzly  turn  to  stare  at  the  course  of  a 
shooting  star;  another  gazed  for  seconds  at  a  bril- 
liant rainbow. 

Generally  the  grizzly's  attention  to  these  demon- 
strations rose  superior  to  commonplace  curiosity; 
he  looked  long,  he  listened  closely,  he  was  ab- 
sorbed, and  he  appeared  to  feel  as  he  sat  lost  in 
wonder.  Had  he  been  a  child,  with  the  power  of 
speech,  he  certainly  would  have  asked  questions. 
Often  his  expression,  his  attitude,  indicated  that  he 
was  saying  to  himself:  "What  was  that?  What 
caused  it?  Where  did  that  noise  come  from?  What 
are  those  strange  shadows  running  from,  and  how 
can  they  move  without  a  sound?" 


On 


IN  the  grizzly  bear  we  have  the  leading  animal 
of  North  America,  and  one  who  might  well  be 
put  at  the  head  of  the  wild  life  of  the  earth.  He  has 
brain  and  brawn.  He  is  self-contained  and  is  pre- 
pared for  anything.  He  makes  an  impressive  ap- 
pearance. He  looks  capable.  He  has  bulk,  agility, 
strength,  endurance,  repose,  courage,  enthusiasm, 
and  curiosity.  He  is  a  masterful  fighter  if  forced  to 
defend  himself. 

But,  a  century  ago,  fifty  years  ago,  or  to-day, 
one  could  ramble  the  grizzly's  territory  in  safety  — 
unless  attempting  to  kill  a  grizzly.  The  grizzly  ob- 
jects to  being  killed.  If  he  is  surprised  or  crowded 
so  that  he  sees  no  escape,  if  the  cubs  are  in  danger 
or  the  mother  thinks  they  are,  or  if  the  bear  is 
wounded,  there  will  be  a  fight  or  a  retreat;  and  the 
grizzly  will  not  be  the  one  retreating.  Almost  every 
animal  —  wild  or  domestic  —  will  fight  if  cornered 
or  if  he  thinks  himself  cornered. 

Before  the  days  of  the  repeating  rifle  the  grizzly 
boldly  wandered  over  his  domain  as  absolute  mas- 
191 


ter;  there  was  nothing  for  him  to  fear;  not  an  ag- 
gressive foe  existed.  But,  being  ever  curious,  he 
hastened  to  examine  whatever  interested  him.  The 
novel  outfit  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  which  appears  to 
have  attracted  unusual  attention  even  from  fron- 
tier people,  must  naturally  have  aroused  the 
highest  pitch  of  interest  in  the  numbers  of  bears 
congregated  in  places  along  the  river.  There  were 
boats  of  odd  type,  —  some  with  sails,  —  strange 
cargoes,  men  in  picturesque  accoutrements,  and 
even  a  colored  man.  The  frequent  close  approaches 
which  the  bears  made  in  trying  to  satisfy  their 
curiosity  caused  Lewis  and  Clark  to  think  them 
ferocious.  ^ 

But  is  the  grizzly  bear  ferocious?  All  the  first- 
hand evidence  I  can  find  says  he  is  not.  Speaking 
from  years  of  experience  with  him  my  answer  is 
emphatically,  "No!"  Nearly  every  one  whom  a 
grizzly  has  killed  went  out  with  the  special  inten- 
tion of  killing  a  grizzly.  The  majority  of  people  who 
hold  the  opinion  that  he  is  not  ferocious  are  those 
who  have  studied  him  without  attempting  to  kill 
him;  while  the  majority  who  say  that  he  is  fero- 
cious are  those  who  have  killed  or  attempted  to  kill 
him. 

192 


During  the  greater  part  of  my  life  I  have  lived  in 
a  grizzly  bear  region.  I  have  camped  for  months 
alone  and  without  a  gun  in  their  territory.  I  have 
seen  them  when  alone  and  when  with  hunters,  in 
Colorado,  Utah,  Arizona,  Mexico,  Wyoming,  Mon- 
tana, Idaho,  Washington,  British  Columbia,  and 
Alaska.  I  have  spent  weeks  trailing  and  watching 
grizzlies,  and  their  tracks  in  the  snow  showed  that 
they  often  trailed  me.  They  frequently  came  close, 
and  there  were  times  when  they  might  have  at- 
tacked me  with  every  advantage.  But  they  did  not 
do  so.  As  they  never  made  any  attack  on  me,  nor 
on  any  one  else  that  I  know  of  who  was  not  bent  on 
killing  them,  I  can  only  conclude  that  they  are  not 
ferocious. 

Once  I  was  running  down  a  Wyoming  mountain- 
side, leaping  fallen  fire-killed  timber,  when  sud- 
denly I  surprised  a  grizzly  by  landing  within  a  few 
feet  of  him.  He  leaped  up  and  struck  at  me  with 
sufficient  force  to  have  almost  cut  me  in  two  had 
the  blow  landed.  Then  he  instantly  fled.  This,  how- 
ever, was  not  ferocity.  Plainly  he  thought  himself 
attacked  and  struck  in  self-defense. 

There  are  many  naturalists  and  frontiersmen 
who  affirm  from  first-hand  experience  that  the 
193 


grizzly  is  not  ferocious,  and  following  are  given  a 
number  of  quotations  from  a  few  of  these  men. 

John  Muir,  who  spent  about  forty  years  in  the 
wilderness  home  of  the  grizzly  bear,  from  1868  to 
1912,  usually  camped  alone  and  never  carried  fire- 
arms. He  has  repeatedly  called  attention  in  his 
books  to  the  wilderness  as  a  place  of  safety,  and 
has  mentioned  that  grizzly  bears  are  masters  in  at- 
tending to  their  own  affairs;  also  that  bears  have 
effectively  suggested  to  wilderness  visitors  to  do 
likewise.  In  "Our  National  Parks"  Muir  says:  — 

"In  my  first  interview  with  a  Sierra  bear  we 
were  frightened  and  embarrassed,  both  of  us,  but 
the  bear's  behavior  was  better  than  mine.  .  .  . 
After  studying  his  appearance  as  he  stood  at  rest,  I 
rushed  forward  to  frighten  him,  that  I  might  study 
his  gait  in  running.  But,  contrary  to  all  I  had  heard 
about  the  shyness  of  bears,  he  did  not  run  at  all; 
and  when  I  stopped  short  within  a  few  steps  of 
him,  as  he  held  his  ground  in  a  fighting  attitude, 
my  mistake  was  monstrously  plain.  I  was  put  on 
my  good  behavior,  and  never  afterwards  forgot  the 
right  manners  of  the  wilderness." 

Muir  also  says,  in  "Steep  Trails" :  — 

"There  are  bears  in  the  woods,  but  not  in  such 
194 


numbers  nor  of  such  unspeakable  ferocity  as  town- 
dwellers  imagine,  nor  do  bears  spend  their  lives 
in  going  about  the  country  like  the  devil,  seeking 
whom  they  may  devour.  Oregon  bears,  like  most 
others,  have  no  liking  for  man  either  as  meat  or  as 
society;  and  while  some  may  be  curious  at  times  to 
see  what  manner  of  creature  he  is,  most  of  them 
have  learned  to  shun  people  as  deadly  enemies." 

Mr.  William  H.  Wright  spent  most  of  his  time 
from  1883  to  1908  as  a  hunter  of  wild  animals,  and 
especially  as  a  hunter  of  the  grizzly.  In  addition  to 
being  an  observer  of  exceptional  care  while  hunting 
and  trapping,  he  spent  some  years  in  photograph- 
ing grizzlies.  He  first  studied  them  in  order  to  hunt 
them  successfully;  then  laid  aside  his  rifle  and 
hunted  them  to  study  them.  From  full  acquaint- 
ance with  the  grizzly  Mr.  Wright  declares  that  he 
is  not  ferocious.  He  offers  the  following  comment 
concerning  his  curiosity  —  a  trait  which  early  ex- 
plorers mistook  for  ferocity :  — 

"We  know  now  that  the  grizzly  is  chock-full  of 
curiosity,  and  that  one  of  his  habits  is  to  follow  up 
any  trail  that  puzzles  or  interests  him,  be  it  of  man 
or  beast.  This  trait  has  been  noted  and  miscon- 
strued by  many.  ...  So  often  have  I  seen  this 
195 


curiosity  and  proved  it  to  be  innocent  that  I  have 
no  fear  whatever  of  these  animals  when  indulging 
in  this  weakness  of  theirs.  Time  and  again  I  have 
allowed  one  to  approach  within  a  few  yards  of  me, 
and  no  calm  observer  who  had  watched  a  bear  de- 
fying his  own  caution  to  satisfy  his  own  inquisi- 
tiveness  could  mistake  the  nature  of  his  ap- 
proach." 

Drummond,  the  botanist,  had  numerous  experi- 
ences with  grizzlies  hi  the  Rocky  Mountains  in 
1826.  He  was  familiar  with  their  curiosity.  He  says 
that  often  they  came  close  and  stood  up  to  look  at 
him.  But  if  he  made  a  noise  with  his  specimen-box, 
or  "even  waved  his  hand,"  they  ran  away. 

James  Capen  Adams  hunted  and  trapped  big 
game  from  1849  to  1859  in  California  and  along  the 
Pacific  Coast.  He  captured  numerous  grizzlies, 
both  old  and  young,  and  literally  domesticated 
them.  He  discusses  their  characteristics  at  length. 
He  knew  them  intimately,  and  in  summing  them 
up  after  years  of  close  association  he  says  of  the 
grizzly,  "He  did  not  invite  combat." 

Kit  Carson,  another  frontiersman  of  long  ex- 
perience with  grizzlies,  in  writing  of  them  does  not 
call  them  ferocious. 

196 


©n 

Dr.  W.  T.  Hornaday  knows  the  grizzly  in  the 
wilds  and  has  long  and  intimately  known  him  in 
the  zoo.  In  "The  American  Natural  History"  Dr. 
Hornaday  has  the  following:  — 

"I  have  made  many  observations  on  the  temper 
of  the  Grizzly  Bear,  and  am  convinced  that  natu- 
rally the  disposition  of  this  reputedly  savage  crea- 
ture is  rather  peaceful  and  good-natured.  At  the 
same  time,  however,  no  animal  is  more  prompt  to 
resent  an  affront  or  injury,  or  punish  an  offender. 
The  Grizzly  temper  is  defensive,  not  aggressive; 
and  unless  the  animal  is  cornered,  or  thinks  he  is 
cornered,  he  always  flees  from  man." 

The  early  explorers  were  warned  by  the  Indians 
that  the  grizzly  was  "an  awful  and  ferocious  ani- 
mal." All  the  early  writers  had  the  preconceived 
belief  that  the  grizzly  was  ferocious.  Many  of  these 
writers  never  saw  a  grizzly,  but  wrote  down  as  fact 
the  erroneous  conclusions  of  the  Indians.  The  few 
writers  who  did  see  a  grizzly  evidently  judged  him 
largely  from  these  preconceived  ideas.  Even  Lewis 
and  Clark  describe  a  number  of  the  grizzly's  ac- 
tions and  call  him  ferocious  when  the  very  ac- 
tions which  they  describe  simply  show  him  as  being 
curious,  interested,  or,  at  worst,  excited  at  their 
197. 


strange  appearance.  They  misinterpreted  what  act- 
ually happened. 

A  few  sentences  from  Audubon  well  illustrate 
the  wrought-up  frame  of  mind  of  many  hunters 
and  authors  when  hunting  or  writing  about  the 
grizzly.  Audubon  says:  — 

"While  in  the  neighborhood  where  the  grizzly 
bear  may  possibly  be  hidden,  the  excited  nerves 
will  cause  the  heart's  pulsations  to  quicken  if  but  a 
startled  ground  squirrel  run  past,  the  sharp  click 
of  the  lock  is  heard  and  the  rifle  hastily  thrown  to 
the  shoulder  before  a  second  of  time  has  assured 
the  hunter  of  the  trifling  cause  of  his  emotion." 
This  suggests  emotion  but  not  accuracy. 

In  summing  up  the  animals  of  the  North  and 
West  in  1790,  Edward  Umfreville  wrote  of  the 
"red  and  the  grizzle  bear"  that  "their  nature  is 
savage  and  ferocious,  their  power  dangerous,  and 
their  haunts  to  be  guarded  against." 

In  1795  Sir  Alexander  MacKenzie  recorded  the 
following:  — 

"The  Indians  entertain  great  apprehension  of 
this  kind  of  a  bear,  which  is  called  the  grisly  bear, 
and  they  never  venture  to  attack  it  except  in  a 
party  of  least  three  or  four." 
I98 


Henry  M.  Brackenridge,  author  of  "Views  of 
Louisiana,"  wrote  the  following  from  hearsay:  — 

"This  animal  is  the  monarch  of  the  country 
which  he  inhabitates.  The  African  lion  or  the  Ben- 
gal tiger  are  not  more  terrible  than  he.  He  is  the 
enemy  of  man  and  literally  thirsts  for  human 
blood.  So  far  from  shunning,  he  seldom  fails  to  at- 
tack and  even  to  hunt  him.  The  Indians  make  war 
upon  these  ferocious  monsters  with  ceremonies  as 
they  do  upon  a  tribe  of  their  own  species,  and,  in 
the  recital  of  their  victories,  the  death  of  one  of 
them  gives  the  warrior  greater  renown  than  the 
scalp  of  an  enemy.  He  possesses  an  amazing 
strength,  and  attacks  without  hesitation  and  tears 
to  pieces  the  largest  buffalo." 

The  first  paragraph  which  Lewis  and  Clark 
wrote  concerning  the  grizzly,  April  29,  1805,  says: 

"We  proceeded  early,  with  a  moderate  wind. 
Captain  Lewis,  who  was  on  shore  with  one  hunter, 
met  about  eight  o'clock  two  white  bears.  Of  the 
strength  and  ferocity  of  this  animal  the  Indians 
had  given  us  dreadful  accounts;  they  never  attack 
him  but  in  parties  of  six  or  eight  persons,  and  even 
then  are  often  defeated  with  a  loss  of  one  or  more 
of  the  party.  Having  no  weapons  but  bows  and 
199 


arrows,  and  the  bad  guns  which  the  traders  supply 
them,  they  are  obliged  to  approach  very  near  the 
bear,  and  as  no  wound  except  through  the  head  or 
heart  is  fatal  they  frequently  fall  a  sacrifice  if  they 
miss  their  aim.  He  rather  attacks  than  avoids  man, 
and  such  is  the  terror  which  he  has  inspired  that 
the  Indians  who  go  in  quest  of  him  paint  them- 
selves and  perform  all  the  superstitious  rites  cus- 
tomary when  they  make  war  on  a  neighboring 
nation.  Hitherto  those  we  had  seen  did  not  ap- 
pear desirous  of  encountering  us,  but  although  to 
a  skillful  rifleman  the  danger  is  very  much  dimin- 
ished, yet  the  white  bear  is  still  a  terrible  animal. 
On  the  approach  of  these  two,  both  Captain  Lewis 
and  the  hunter  fired  and  each  wounded  a  bear;  one 
of  them  made  his  escape;  the  other  turned  upon 
Captain  Lewis  and  pursued  him  seventy  or  eighty 
yards,  but  being  badly  wounded  he  could  not  run 
so  fast  as  to  prevent  him  reloading  his  piece,  which 
he  again  aimed  at  him,  and  a  third  shot  from  the 
hunter  brought  him  to  the  ground." 

Below  are  two  additional  paragraphs  from  the 
Journal  of  Lewis  and  Clark.  These  show  that  the 
grizzly  was  most  wide-awake  and  curious,  and  also 
that  he  was  not  accustomed  to  being  afraid. 
200 


On 

"The  bear  which  gave  so  much  trouble  on  the 
head  of  the  Missouri  are  equally  fierce  in  this  quar- 
ter. This  morning  one  of  them,  which  was  on  a 
sand-bar  as  the  boat  passed,  raised  himself  on  his 
hind  feet  and  after  looking  at  the  party,  plunged  in 
and  swam  towards  them.  He  was  received  with 
three  balls  in  the  body;  he  then  turned  around  and 
made  for  the  shore.  Towards  evening  another  en- 
tered the  water  to  swim  across.  Captain  Clark  or- 
dered the  boat  towards  the  shore,  and  just  as  the 
bear  landed  shot  the  animal  hi  the  head.  It  proved 
to  be  the  largest  female  they  had  ever  seen,  and  so 
old  that  its  tusks  were  worn  quite  smooth." 

"Just  as  he  arrived  near  Willow  Run,  he  ap- 
proached a  thicket  of  brush  in  which  was  a  white 
bear,  which  he  did  not  discover  till  he  was  within 
ten  feet  of  him;  his  horse  started,  and  wheeling 
suddenly  round,  threw  M'Neal  almost  immedi- 
ately under  the  bear,  who  started  up  instantly,  and 
finding  the  bear  raising  himself  on  his  hind  feet  to 
attack  him,  struck  him  on  the  head  with  the  butt 
end  of  his  musket;  the  blow  was  so  violent  that  it 
broke  the  breech  of  the  musket  and  knocked  the 
bear  to  the  ground,  and  before  he  recovered, 
M'Neal,  seeing  a  willow  tree  close  by,  sprang  up, 
201 


and  there  remained  while  the  bear  closely  guarded 
the  foot  of  the  tree  until  late  in  the  afternoon.  He 
then  went  off,  and  M'Neal  being  released  came 
down,  and  having  found  his  horse,  which  had 
strayed  off  to  the  distance  of  two  miles,  returned 
to  camp.  These  animals  are,  indeed,  of  a  most  ex- 
traordinary ferocity,  and  it  is  matter  of  wonder  that 
in  all  our  encounters  we  have  had  the  good  fortune 
to  escape." 

The  grizzly  was  introduced  to  the  world  by  Gov- 
ernor DeWitt  Clinton  of  New  York,  who  appears  to 
have  taken  his  information  from  the  Journal  of 
Lewis  and  Clark.  In  the  course  of  an  address  before 
the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  of  New 
York  City  in  1814,  he  completely  misinterpreted 
the  real  character  of  the  grizzly  and  popularized  a 
number  of  errors  that  not  only  were  believed  then 
but  have  survived  to  this  day.  The  real  grizzly  is  a 
distinguished  character;  but  the  grizzly  as  com- 
monly described  by  tongue  and  story  —  well, 
"there  ain't  no  such  animal." 

Governor  Clinton  in  discussing  the  work  in  store 

for  the  coming  naturalists  said,   "There  is  the 

white,  brown,  or  grizzly  bear,  the  ferocious  tyrant 

of  the  American  woods  —  it  exists,  the  terror  of 

202 


©efetwto* 


the  savages,  the  tyrant  of  all  other  animals,  de- 
vouring alike  man  and  beast  and  defying  the  at- 
tacks of  a  whole  tribe  of  Indians."  Few  people  real- 
ize to  what  extent  these  inaccurate  words  have 
discouraged  outdoor  life  and  how  enormously  they 
have  contributed  to  the  output  of  fictitious  nature 
writing. 

The  Indians  had  a  profound  respect  for  the  fight- 
ing efficiency  of  the  grizzly.  When  one  of  them 
killed  a  grizzly  he  triumphantly  wore  the  claw  as  a 
medal  for  rare  bravery.  The  grizzly  has  a  head  and 
a  hide  that  the  Indian  could  rarely  penetrate  with 
either  an  arrow  or  a  spear.  We  may  readily  believe 
that  the  grizzly  defied  the  attacks  of  "a  whole 
tribe  of  Indians,"  as  Governor  DeWitt  Clinton 
said.  He  would  defy  a  whole  tribe  of  Indians  or  a 
score  of  white  men  with  similar  weapons  to-day. 
So,  too,  would  the  elephant,  the  African  lion,  or 
the  tiger. 

With  the  rifles  used  at  the  time  of  Lewis  and 
Clark  it  was  necessary  for  the  hunter  to  approach 
close  to  the  bear  that  the  bullet  might  have  suffi- 
cient velocity  to  penetrate  a  vital  spot.  The  rifles 
being  only  single-shot,  the  hunter  was  exposed  to 
the  assault  of  the  bear  in  case  his  aim  missed  or  the 
203 


shot  was  ineffective.  It  is  not  surprising  that  in 
most  cases  those  attempting  to  kill  the  grizzly 
either  were  overpowered  by  him  or  succeeded  only 
through  force  of  numbers  and  with  the  loss  of  some 
of  the  assailants.  But  the  ability  of  the  grizzly  to 
withstand  such  attacks  and  to  defend  himself  has 
been  confused  with  ferocity. 

The  grizzly  is  a  fighting-machine  of  the  first  or- 
der and  with  the  weapons  of  two  or  three  genera- 
tions ago  he  often  sold  his  life  most  dearly.  In  a 
short  time  the  grizzly  had  the  reputation  of  being  a 
terrible  fighter,  and  along  with  this  he  was  given 
the  reputation  of  being  ferocious  —  of  being  an 
awful  hunter  of  man.  For  the  grizzly  to  repel  effec- 
tually those  who  went  out  to  attack  him  is  a  very 
different  thing  from  his  going  out  to  hunt  and  to 
attack  people  who  were  not  molesting  him.  This 
latter  he  has  never  done. 

The  words  of  Umfreville,  MacKenzie,  Bracken- 
ridge,  Clinton,  and  Lewis  and  Clark  bring  out 
strongly  that  the  grizzly  is  a  fighter,  formidable, 
perhaps  unequaled.  Their  opinion  on  this  point  is 
supported  by  ample  first-hand  testimony  down 
through  the  years,  from  all  over  the  grizzly  terri- 
tory. But  it  has  not  been  established  that  the  griz- 
204 


On 

zly  is  ferocious,  is  seeking  to  kill.  No,  the  grizzly 
does  not  look  for  a  fight;  he  is  for  peace  at  almost 
any  price. 

The  grizzly  fights  in  self-defense;  men  do  the 
same.  A  man  is  not  criminal  for  fighting  in  self- 
defense;  neither  is  a  grizzly.  For  this  self-defense 
fighting  the  grizzly  should  not  be  put  in  the  crimi- 
nal class.  "The  worm  will  turn,"  is  an  old  saying. 
All  animals  fight  in  self-defense,  some  more  quickly 
than  others.  Few  ever  succeed  against  man;  the 
grizzly  often  does.  Apparently  the  effective  self- 
defense  of  the  grizzly  is  responsible  for  his  criminal 
reputation. 

It  is  common  for  those  who  believe  that  the  griz- 
zly is  ferocious  to  believe  also  that  he  eats  human 
flesh.  There  is  no  known  instance  of  his  having 
done  so. 

We  are  now  hearing  that  the  Alaska  bears  are 
especially  ferocious.  Yet,  in  Alaska  at  the  present 
time,  and  for  many  years  in  the  past,  the  bear 
trails  are  concealed  as  much  as  possible  by  being  in 
the  woods.  This  would  prevent  the  bear  on  the 
trail  being  readily  seen  by  man.  Along  the  sea, 
where  much  bear  food  is  cast  ashore,  the  trails  are 
not  upon  the  open  beach  but  some  distance  away 
205 


behind  the  trees.  The  bears  depend  on  scent  to  tell 
them  if  there  is  anything  along  the  shore  to  eat. 
Both  their  trails  and  their  daily  life  in  Alaska  con- 
clusively show  that  their  chief  concern  is  to  keep 
away  from  and  out  of  sight  of  man. 

The  experience  with  bears  in  the  Yellowstone 
Park  demonstrates  that  the  grizzly  is  not  ferocious. 
The  Park  had  a  numerous  grizzly  population  when 
it  was  made  a  wild-life  reservation.  The  people 
who  in  increasing  numbers  visited  the  Park  carried 
no  fire-arms  and  they  were  not  molested  by  the 
grizzlies.  Yet  grizzlies  were  all  about.  After  some 
twenty  years  of  this  friendly  association  of  people 
and  grizzlies,  a  number  of  grizzlies,  dyspeptic  and 
demoralized  from  eating  garbage,  and  annoyed  by 
the  teasing  of  thoughtless  people,  became  cross  and 
lately  even  dangerous.  But  these  bears  cannot  be 
called  ferocious.  Eliminate  the  garbage-piles  and 
cease  harassing  the  bears,  and  they  will  again  be 
friendly. 

The  grizzly  bear  has  been  a  golden  gift  of  the 
gods  for  the  countless  writers  of  highly,  colored  al- 
leged natural  history.  There  is  a  type,  too,  of  wild 
fiction-writers  of  the  Captain  Mayne  Reid  class 
whose  thrilling  stories  of  the  grizzly  and  other  wil- 
206 


derness  animals  are  purely  fictitious,  and,  though 
not  even  pretending  to  be  fact,  appear  to  have 
been  taken  seriously  by  thousands.  So  prolific  and 
continuous  has  been  the  output  of  these  writers 
that  facts  have  been  lost,  and  it  is  practically  im- 
possible for  the  average  individual  to  know  the  real 
grizzly  bear.  This  comes  near  to  being  the  immor- 
tality of  error.  It  is  a  national  misfortune  that  the 
overwhelming  majority  of  people  should  be  im- 
posed upon  with  erroneous  natural  history.  The 
destiny  of  the  human  race  is  intimately  tied  up 
with  nature,  and  for  any  one  to  misunderstand  the 
simple  facts  which  unite  us  with  nature  is  to  be  out 
of  harmony  with  the  whole  scheme  of  things.  An 
accurate  knowledge  of  natural  history  has  an  im- 
portant place  in  guiding  the  judgments  of  our  race. 
Because  of  their  intimate  knowledge  of  the  griz- 
zly bear,  James  Capen  Adams,  William  H.  Wright, 
and  Philip  Ashton  Rollins  admired  this  animal.  It 
would  be  a  glorious  thing  if  every  one  appreciated 
the  real  character  of  the  grizzly  bear.  A  changed 
attitude  toward  him  —  the  great  animal  of  the  out- 
doors —  might  cause  the  wilderness  to  appeal  to 
all  as  a  friendly  wonderland. 


(HUn's  Bogaf  Companion 


QUmt'0  Bo^af  Companion 

MISS  GRIZZLY 

JUST  as  I  reached  the  edge  of  the  woods  by  a 
sawmill  in  the  Medicine  Bow  Mountains,  a 
young  grizzly  rushed  at  me  as  though  to  "chew  me 
up."  She  frightened  me  for  a  second,  but  the  next 
instant  I  realized  that  it  was  only  a  bluff. 

"You  are  not  polite  to  strangers,"  I  said  to  her. 

She  stood  still  for  a  minute,  looked  at  me  qui- 
etly, and  then  began  leaping  and  racing  about  me 
like  an  awkward  puppy  who  has  just  made  your 
acquaintance  and  is  eager  for  play. 

"Miss  Grizzly"  had  been  captured  when  a  small 
cub,  about  a  year  and  a  half  before,  and  raised  by 
the  foreman  of  the  mill.  The  pet  and  favorite  of  all 
the  men  in  camp,  she  had  the  freedom  of  the  place, 
played  with  the  visiting  teamsters,  and  welcomed 
strangers.  She  was  companionable  with  every  one, 
but  was  nobody's  grizzly. 

Early  in  her  life  at  the  mill  she  had  learned  to  be 
afraid  of  the  big  buzzing  saw.  One  day  as  she  stood 
211 


several  feet  away,  either  listening  to  the  hum  of  the 
saw  or  watching  the  dust  thrown  from  it,  the  saw 
chanced  to  strike  a  knot.  A  piece  of  this  flew  and 
struck  Miss  Grizzly  solidly  between  the  eyes,  rais- 
ing a  lump.  She  was  exceedingly  wary  of  the  saw 
after  that.  Although  she  ranged  around  it,  she 
never  risked  going  too  close  again.  Often  she 
leaped  upon  a  log  as  it  was  starting  on  the  carrier 
for  the  saw,  but  she  never  failed  to  leap  off  before 
getting  as  near  the  saw  as  she  had  been  when 
struck  by  the  flying  chip. 

A  logger  from  several  miles  away  who  had  come 
to  remain  at  the  mill  for  some  time  brought  with 
him  his  pet  black  bear.  All  the  men  were  assembled 
in  the  bunk-house  to  see  the  meeting  of  the  two 
bears.  Miss  Grizzly  was  in  the  room  when  the  black 
bear  came  in.  The  instant  the  black  bear  caught 
sight  of  Miss  Grizzly  he  was  "scared  out  of  his 
wits."  He  at  once  turned  about  and  tried  to  run 
from  the  room.  But  haughty  Miss  Grizzly  acted 
indifferently.  Although  she  was  much  smaller  than 
the  black,  there  was  no  fear;  she  pretended  that 
she  had  not  seen  him.  Ignoring  him,  she  went  out  of 
the  room  by  the  rear  door  and  began  playing  with 
one  of  the  dogs. 

212 


A  BLACK  BEAR  IN  THE  SEQUOIA  NATIONAL  PARK 


Qtlcm'0  Jlogaf  Companion 

Miss  Grizzly  was  ever  independent,  resourceful, 
and  capable.  One  day  a  teamster  handed  her  a  bot- 
tle of  catsup.  Standing  erect,  she  took  it  deftly  in 
her  fore  paws.  She  was  greatly  interested  in  it  — 
probably  in  the  color.  In  turning  it  about  she 
caught  sight  of  a  floating  air-bubble.  Inverting  the 
bottle  from  end  to  end,  she  tried  to  make  this  out; 
she  held  it  between  her  eyes  and  the  light,  she 
shook  it  back  and  forth  close  to  her  ear.  Then,  go- 
ing directly  to  a  near-by  log,  she  brought  the  bottle 
down  upon  it  and  catsup  splashed  in  all  directions. 
Her  curiosity  satisfied,  she  seemed  to  enjoy  licking 
up  the  catsup. 

The  men  never  teased  Miss  Grizzly  nor  at- 
tempted to  teach  her  any  tricks.  Consequently  her 
disposition  was  uniformly  of  the  best.  She  enjoyed 
cartwheeling  and  liked  to  have  the  men  start  her 
with  a  little  push  down  the  slope  near  the  mill. 
Curling  her  nose  behind  her  toes,  she  rolled  over 
and  over.  Occasionally  she  climbed  upon  the  flat- 
roofed  lumber-shed  for  the  fun  of  rolling  off.  While 
she  did  much  climbing  over  the  logs  and  lumber- 
piles  and  on  the  low  roofs,  she  did  not  attempt  to 
climb  a  tree  after  the  first  few  weeks  she  was  at  the 
mill. 

213 


She  was  never  chained  and  she  rambled  about 
wherever  she  liked.  She  spent  most  of  her  time  at 
the  sawmill  or  close  to  it.  Occasionally  she  followed 
one  of  the  loggers  off  into  the  woods.  Sometimes  by 
the  hour  she  would  lie  near  where  he  was  work- 
ing, interested  in  the  flying  chips.  Sometimes  she 
would  go  off  on  a  little  hunting-excursion,  tear  an 
old  stump  to  pieces,  or  overturn  rocks  in  search  of 
ants  and  grubs.  One  day  a  tree  in  falling  sent  a 
shower  of  limbs  all  about  Miss  Grizzly,  one  of 
them  apparently  striking  her.  She  was  not  injured, 
but,  bawling  like  a  frightened  baby,  she  turned 
and  ran  for  camp,  and  never  again  did  she  go  to  the 
woods  with  the  logger. 

Miss  Grizzly  was  usually  fed  just  outside  the 
cook-house  door.  She  preferred  to  eat  in  seclusion. 
But  when  especially  hungry  she  came  boldly  into 
the  dining-room  while  the  men  were  eating.  Walk- 
ing round  the  table,  she  accepted  whatever  was 
offered  her  —  and  every  one  offered  her  something. 

She  was  fond  of  the  teamster  who  arrived  twice 
a  week  with  supplies  and  usually  followed  him 
homeward,  running  along  behind  the  wagon.  Now 
and  then  she  preferred  to  ride  close  to  him  with  her 
nose  on  his  shoulder,  sitting  on  her  haunches  like  a 
214 


Qftan'0  JJogaf  (Companion 

big  dog.  Usually  she  went  only  two  or  three  miles 
and  then  returned  promptly  home,  but  occasion- 
ally she  lingered.  One  day,  during  her  third  sum- 
mer at  the  mill,  she  followed  the  teamster  as  usual 
but  did  not  return  until  in  the  night.  After  this  she 
made  an  occasional  excursion  into  the  woods  alone, 
sometimes  being  gone  a  day  or  two.  One  day,  after 
an  unusually  long  absence,  she  came  back  accom- 
panied by  another  young  grizzly. 

Tracks  in  the  dust  showed  that  the  stranger  had 
hesitated  to  approach  the  mill.  Within  two  or  three 
hundred  yards  of  it  he  had  reared  up,  alert,  as 
though  he  had  scented  or  heard  something  alarm- 
ing. Here  and  there  in  the  road  Miss  Grizzly  had 
evidently  turned  back  to  reassure  him.  Both  finally 
came  within  a  short  distance  of  the  mill,  when  at 
the  appearance  of  one  of  the  men  the  strange  bear 
turned  and  fled. 

The  first  winter  Miss  Grizzly  did  not  offer  to 
hibernate.  She  was  fed  regularly,  and  the  men 
never  thought  of  encouraging  her  to  den  up.  But 
the  second  winter  she  slept  three  months.  About 
the  first  of  December  she  dug  a  den  back  into  the 
side  of  the  big  sawdust  pile  and  crawled  in.  Two  or 
three  times  during  the  winter  the  men  wakened 
215 


her,  and  she  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  den  and  then 
returned  to  sleep.  Once  she  came  out  for  a  few 
hours,  but,  though  tempted,  refused  to  eat.  Ordi- 
narily Miss  Grizzly  slept  outside  the  sawmill, 
against  one  end  of  the  building;  but  sometimes  she 
spent  the  night  beneath  the  edge  of  the  slab-pile. 

The  third  autumn  at  the  mill  Miss  Grizzly  made 
numerous  excursions  into  the  woods  alone,  and  one 
day  she  went  off  on  one  from  which  she  did  not 
return. 

BEN  FRANKLIN 

James  Capen  Adams,  known  as  "Grizzly  Ad- 
ams," the  celebrated  hunter  and  trapper  of  wild 
American  animals,  was  easily  foremost  for  what  he 
accomplished  in  showing  the  real  character  of  the 
grizzly  bear.  His  biography,  "The  Adventures  of 
James  Capen  Adams,"  tells  of  his  intelligent,  sym- 
pathetic, and  successful  methods  in  handling  griz- 
zly bears,  whether  they  were  young  or  old.  He 
made  loyal  companions  of  grizzlies  and  trained 
them  so  that  they  served  him  capably  in  a  number 
of  capacities.  In  the  handling  of  these  animals  Ad- 
ams studied  their  character.  He  was  uniformly 
sympathetic,  kind,  calm,  and  firm.  He  endeavored 
216 


Qtlan'0  Bogaf  (Companion 

to  accomplish  any  desired  end  through  gentleness 
and  by  appeal  to  the  animal's  interest  and  loy- 
alty. Force  and  torture,  which  so  often  are  the 
chief  equipment  of  animal-trainers,  had  no  place 
in  his  methods. 

The  story  of  Ben  Franklin  and  his  bringing-up 
by  Adams  gives  an  excellent  view  of  a  real  grizzly 
and  an  excellent  master.  Adams  took  Ben  Franklin 
from  a  den  when  he  was  a  tiny  blind  cub.  At  first 
he  was  fed  on  a  mixture  of  water,  flour,  and  sugar, 
and  then  Adams  persuaded  a  greyhound  which 
was  nursing  a  puppy,  Rambler,  to  suckle  Ben.  Ben, 
while  nursing,  was  made  to  wear  buckskin  mittens 
to  prevent  his  scratching  his  foster-mother.  Ben 
and  Rambler  became  lifelong  companions,  and 
when  not  asleep  spent  most  of  their  time  playing 
and  tussling  with  each  other. 

Sometimes,  when  traveling  through  the  moun- 
tains with  them  when  they  were  still  small,  Adams 
would  take  them  out  of  the  wagon  and  allow  them 
to  play  together.  They  chased  each  other  over  the 
grass  or  had  merry  races  after  rabbits,  squirrels,  or 
prairie-dogs.  When  older,  they  enjoyed  traveling 
all  day  together  on  foot.  On  a  number  of  occasions 
it  was  necessary  for  Ben  to  wear  buckskin  mocca- 
217 


sins  to  protect  his  feet  from  the  sharp  rocks  and  the 
desert  sand,  and  once,  after  he  was  much  larger,  his 
feet  became  so  sore  he  was  loaded  into  the  wagon 
and  hauled  for  a  day  or  two. 

Ben  quickly  outstripped  his  foster-brother  in 
size,  but,  although  very  swift  of  foot,  he  was  soon 
outrun  by  the  greyhound.  Several  times  Ben  and 
Rambler  came  upon  the  fleet-footed  antelope, 
which  Rambler  closely  pursued  for  miles.  Ben 
would  usually  race  for  half  a  mile  or  so,  then,  being 
unable  to  keep  up  with  Rambler,  would  sit  down, 
look  around  for  a  minute,  and  return  to  his  master. 
For  several  years  they  followed  Adams  in  his  long 
hunting-trips  across  the  mountains. 

Adams  sometimes  tempted  Ben  by  placing 
within  his  reach  scraps  of  dainty  food,  but  he  was 
so  well  trained  that  he  never  touched  any  food  un- 
til it  was  given  to  him.  Often,  when  hungry,  Ben 
would  sit  on  his  haunches  near  his  master,  occa- 
sionally looking  up  into  his  face  and  remonstrating 
if  he  did  not  receive  attention. 

When  Ben  became  larger,  Adams  trained  him  as 

a  pack-animal,  and  Ben  carried  the  camp  outfit 

and  supplies  on  his  back  through  the  wilderness. 

At  other  times  he  was  used  with  Rambler  in  hunt- 

218 


Companion 

ing,  or  when  Adams  was  attacking  a  grizzly.  Ben 
was  once  severely  injured  in  a  fight  with  a  jag- 
uar. He  was  not  chained  except  when  near  a  vil- 
lage, and  then  only  for  the  safety  of  the  excited 
dogs. 

On  one  of  his  hunting-expeditions  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Oregon,  Adams  had  what  he  considered  one 
of  the  narrowest  escapes  of  his  life.  He  had  with 
him  as  usual  Rambler  and  Ben  Franklin.  While 
passing  through  a  thicket  Adams  came  unexpect- 
edly upon  a  mother  grizzly  with  cubs.  The  mother 
bear  at  once  knocked  him  down  and  began  to  chew 
him  up.  Ben  Franklin  had  not  heretofore  seen  one 
of  his  kin. 

"What  will  Ben  do?"  thought  Adams,  "help  me 
or  join  his  own  kind  and  also  attack  me?" 

There  was  neither  doubt  nor  hesitation  in  Ben's 
mind.  Though  young  and  small,  he  went  to  the 
defense  of  his  master  against  a  grizzly  five  times 
his  own  size.  So  vigorously  did  Ben  throw  himself 
upon  the  big  grizzly  that  she  turned  from  Adams 
and  vented  her  fury  upon  Ben.  Though  badly 
wounded,  Adams  was  able  with  this  opportunity 
to  reach  for  his  rifle  and  kill  the  grizzly. 

Ben  ran  howling  to  camp.  Adams,  also  fright- 
219 


fully  injured,  followed,  and  found  Ben  lying  under 
the  wagon  licking  his  bleeding  sides.  So  grateful 
was  he  to  Ben  for  saving  his  life  that  he  dressed  the 
little  bear's  wounds  before  giving  attention  to  his 
own,  and  remained  in  camp  several  days,  giving 
Ben  every  possible  attention  and  opportunity  to 
recover.  We  can  understand  his  saying  of  Ben 
Franklin:  "The  most  excellent  of  all  beasts,  as 
faithful  as  it  is  possible  for  any  animal  to  be;  Ben 
Franklin,  the  king  of  the  forest,  the  flower  of  his 
race,  my  firmest  friend." 

The  following  tribute  to  Ben  Franklin  appeared 
in  the  San  Francisco  "Evening  Bulletin"  of  Janu- 
ary 19,  1858:  — 


NATIVE  CALIFORNIAN 

"Ben  Franklin,  the  grizzly  bear,  the  favorite  of 
the  Museum  man,  Adams,  the  companion  for  the 
last  three  or  four  years  of  his  various  expeditions  in 
the  mountains  and  his  sojourns  in  the  cities  and 
towns  of  California,  departed  from  this  mortal  ex- 
istence on  Sunday  evening,  at  10  o'clock.  The  noble 
brute,  which  was  captured  at  the  head-waters  of 
the  Merced  River  in  1854,  had  been  raised  by  his 
220 


Qllan'0  Hoga(  Companion 


master  from  a  cub,  and  during  his  life  manifested 
the  most  indubitable  indications  of  remarkable 
sagacity  and  affection.  He  was  ever  tame  and  gen- 
tle, and  although  possessed  of  the  size  and  strength 
of  a  giant  among  brutes,  was  in  disposition  peace- 
ful ;  rough  it  is  true,  in  his  playfulness,  but  always 
well  disposed.  He  frequently  carried  his  master's 
pack,  provisions  and  weapons;  frequently  shared 
his  blanket  and  fed  from  the  same  loaf. 

"One  of  his  eyes  was  observed  to  be  injured  and 
several  scars  were  to  be  seen  about  his  head  and 
neck;  but  they  were  honorable  wounds  and  re- 
flected as  much  credit  upon  poor  Ben  as  the  scars 
of  a  brave  soldier.  They  were  all  received  in  the 
service  of  his  human  friend,  protector  and  master. 
As  might  be  supposed  his  loss  has  been  severely 
felt  by  Adams." 

MISS  JIM  AND  MR.  BESSIE 

During  many  years  in  the  West,  Mr.  Philip  A. 
Rollins  was  an  accurate  and  sympathetic  observer 
of  the  grizzly  bear.  He  knew  him  in  various  locali- 
ties, and  saw  him  under  countless  conditions.  He 
hunted  him  with  a  gun  and  then  without  a  gun.  He 
raised  grizzlies,  kindly  and  intelligently.  He  is  one 
221 


of  the  highest  authorities  on  the  grizzly.  He  kindly 
wrote  for  me  the  following  from  his  personal  ex- 
perience :  — 

"To  one  who  knows  and  loves  bears,  Enos  A.  Mills, 
from  one  who  loves  them,  Philip  A.  Rollins. 

"One  summer  day,  now  almost  thirty  years  ago, 
a  cowboy,  hunting  from  our  Wyoming  ranch,  killed 
a  female  grizzly  bear.  Her  two  attendant  cubs 
were  brought  to  the  ranch  by  the  cowboy,  an  oper- 
ation which  decreased  the  value  of  his  clothing,  and 
lessened  the  quantity  of  his  skin.  The  names  of  Jim 
and  Bessie,  hastily  bestowed  as  the  party,  in  part 
hauling  and  swearing,  and  in  part  twisting  and 
growling,  made  its  arrival,  were,  for  the  sake  of  ac- 
curacy, later  changed  to  Miss  Jim  and  Mr.  Bessie. 

"The  youngsters  were  presently  introduced  to 
their  sleeping  quarters  in  the  'bear  parlor,'  an  en- 
closure connecting  with  the  main  room  of  the 
ranch  house  by  a  doorway  usually  closed  only  with 
several  curtains  of  heavy  felt.  Five  black  bears  had 
their  abode  in  the  'bear  parlor'  when  the  little 
grizzlies  registered  their  advent  —  a  registration 
effected  by  clawing  and  biting  everybody  and 
everything  within  reach.  After  a  few  days  marked 
by  pandemonium  and  the  enticements  of  very  fre- 
222 


(fllan'0  Jlogaf  Companion 

quent  meals,  Miss  Jim  and  Mr.  Bessie  were  the 
dictators  of  all  the  black  bears  and  the  friends  of 
all  the  men ;  of  all  the  men,  save  one,  —  he  could 
not  refrain  from  teasing.  Months  passed ;  the  little 
grizzlies  increased  in  strength.  The  teasing  contin- 
ued. One  day  a  visiting  surgeon  set  three  ribs  and 
an  arm. 

"Except  for  this  research  into  human  anatomy, 
nothing  untoward  happened  until  the  end  of  four 
years.  Meanwhile  the  two  grizzlies  had,  at  all 
times,  come  and  gone  at  will  into  and  out  of  the 
ranch  house;  had,  whenever  they  desired,  tidbits 
supplemental  to  their  food;  attended  the  ranch 
meals,  perched  in  orderly  fashion  on  a  bench  at  the 
foot  of  the  dining- table;  and,  after  the  first  six 
months,  made  any  excursion  they  wished,  being 
absent  from  the  ranch  sometimes  for  several  suc- 
cessive days,  going  thus  either  alone  or  as  the  com- 
panions of  whatever  man  might  have  occasion  to 
travel  across  country.  These  trips  not  infrequently 
made  them  adjuncts  of  a  fishing-party,  and  on  such 
occasions  they  were  always  content  with  their  toll 
of  the  first  four  fish  caught  —  two  fish  for  each  bear. 

"No  attempt  was  ever  made  to  exact  from  the 
bears  the  performance  of  tricks.  They  were  treated 
223 


from  the  outset  in  the  same  manner  as  one  would 
treat  a  well-trained  hunting  hound,  save  that  spe- 
cial care  was  taken  that  they  should  be  fed  before 
approaching  either  the  men's  dining-table  in  the 
ranch  house  or  the  lunching  group  of  a  fishing- 
party.  On  their  bench  at  the  foot  of  the  dining- 
table,  they  never  were  indecorous,  never  snatched 
at  any  food,  but  would  sit  in  dignified  silence  until 
called  by  name.  Upon  the  sound  of  its  name,  the 
invited  .bear  would  lumber  down  to  the  floor, 
shuffle  along  to  the  chair  of  the  inviter,  and,  having 
been  given  and  somewhat  gently  received,  the 
promised  confection,  would  promptly  return  to  its 
seat.  It  is  true  that  the  returning  bear  would  not 
infrequently  in  passing,  give  playful,  if  vigorous, 
pokes  into  the  bodies  of  its  fellows,  but  none  of  the 
blows  were  aimed  at  or  reached  a  human  being. 

"The  grizzlies  were  true  companions,  for  they 
had  all  the  affectionate  faithfulness  of  the  best  of 
dogs,  intelligence  far  beyond  that  of  any  horse,  and 
endless  sense  of  humor.  As  to  intelligence,  they  re- 
peatedly used  their  brains  in  a  manner  which  per- 
haps is  best  exemplified  by  the  following  instance 
of  another  grizzly  which  I  watched  years  ago :  An 
animal  which,  discovering  a  half-filled  food-can, 
224 


(Hlan'0  Bogaf  Companion 

and  prevented  by  the  semi-closed  lid  from  touching 
the  contents,  takes  a  stone  between  its  paws  and 
smashes  the  lid,  has  claim  to  brains,  even  if  that 
animal  be  only  a  bear. 

"I  have  said  that  nothing  untoward  happened 
during  the  four  years.  On  second  thought,  an 
untoward  event  did  occur.  One  November,  a  quan- 
tity of  freshly  preserved  blueberries  had  been  ob- 
tained from  the  East.  These  berries  were  trans- 
formed into  twenty-four  large  deep-dish  pies,  one 
for  each  man  on  the  ranch.  On  the  date  of  the  an- 
ticipated feast,  an  entertainment  at  a  neighboring 
camp  depopulated  the  house,  but  did  not  degrizzly 
its  environs.  In  the  early  evening  of  that  day,  the 
house  was  approached  by  a  file  of  men,  pie-bent, 
expectant,  joyous.  Two  house  logs  pulled  from 
without  doors,  bear- tracks  done  upon  the  snow  in 
vivid  blue,  forewarned  that  twenty-four  pies  had 
passed  into  history. 

"At  the  end  of  the  four  years,  Miss  Jim  fell  vic- 
tim to  poison,  whether  set  for  her  or  for  wolves  we 
never  knew.  Presently  Mr.  Bessie  was  once  more 
teased,  this  time  by  a  visiting  ranchman.  After  the 
ranchman  had  been  reassembled  and  revived,  it 
was  decided  that  the  bear  must  be  done  for.  He 
225 


should  not  be  killed.  That  smacked  of  murder.  He 
should  not  be  caged  in  a  zoological  garden.  He  had 
not  sinned  according  to  bear  law.  Accordingly  it 
was  agreed  that  he  should  be  lost.  He  was  led  two 
hundred  miles  from  the  ranch  and  bidden  to  go  his 
way.  His  return  to  the  ranch  preceded  that  of  his 
keeper  by  eight  hours.  He  was  led  to  the  moun- 
tains of  Idaho,  and  the  duration  of  his  return  jour- 
ney not  improbably  is  still  the  minimum  record  for 
that  course.  Finally  two  admirers  conducted  him 
to  Oregon  and  there  parted  with  him  forever.  The 
last  view  disclosed  a  cheerful  expression  as  he  con- 
templated two  hams  tied  to  a  tree,  partly  for  pur- 
poses of  strategy  and  partly  as  a  parting  gift." 

A  real  acquaintance  with  the  grizzly  bear  ap- 
pears to  fill  every  one  with  admiration  for  him.  Mr. 
William  H.  Wright,  quoted  elsewhere  in  this  book, 
understood  the  grizzly  thoroughly.  His  comprehen- 
sive book,  "The  Grizzly  Bear,"  is  dedicated  with 
these  words:  — 

"WITH  THE   RESPECT,  ADMIRATION  AND  AFFECTION 

OF  THE  AUTHOR, 
TO  THE  NOBLEST  WILD  ANIMAL  OF  NORTH  AMERICA, 


Qtm  (Bmtotrownatfe 


A  ROCK  fell  from  a  high  cliff  and  struck  upon 
solid  granite  near  a  grizzly  whom  I  was 
watching.  There  was  a  terrific  crash  and  roar.  Un- 
mindful of  the  flying  fragments  and  pieces  bound- 
ing near,  the  grizzly  reared  up  and  pressed  fore 
paws  over  his  ears.  Just  as  he  was  uncovering  them 
the  echo  came  thundering  and  booming  back  from  a 
cliff  across  the  lake.  Again  he  hastily  covered  his 
ears  with  his  paws  to  soften  the  ear-bursting 
crash. 

On  another  occasion  a  wounded  bear  took  refuge 
in  a  small  thicket  where  the  hunter  was  unable  to 
get  a  shot  at  him.  After  failing  to  force  the  bear  into 
the  open,  the  hunter  gave  a  wild,  ear-splitting  yell. 
With  a  growl  of  pain  the  bear  at  once  charged  furi- 
ously through  the  thicket  toward  the  hunter. 

A  grizzly  has  supersensitive  ears,  and  loud,  harsh 
sounds  give  his  nerves  a  harrowing  shock.  Through 
his  higher  development  the  grizzly  probably  suf- 
fers more  intensely  and  enjoys  more  fully  than 
other  animals.  The  clashing  city  noises  must  be  a 
229 


never-ending  irritation  and  torture  to  a  bear  who 
has  been  sentenced  to  end  his  days  in  a  riotous  en- 
vironment. How  he  must  yearn  for  the  hush  of  the 
wilderness !  And,  as  his  sense  of  smell  is  also  amaz- 
ingly developed,  perhaps  he  longs  for  a  whiff  of 
pine-spiced  air  and  the  wild,  exquisite  perfume  of 
the  violets. 

Experience  in  many  zoos  has  shown  that  sub- 
jecting caged  grizzlies  to  close  contact  with  people 
is  usually  cruelty  to  animals.  Often  they  become 
cross,  and  a  number  of  crowd-worried  grizzlies 
have  died  prematurely  from  resultant  apoplexy. 
Modern  zoo  bear-pens  are  constructed  so  that  the 
bear  is  beyond  the  wiles  of  visitors  —  so  that  he 
can  have  much  privacy  —  one  of  the  needs  of  any 
grizzly.  Perhaps  we  too  often  think  of  the  bulky 
grizzly  as  being  coarse  and  crude.  But  he  is  an  ani- 
mal of  the  highest  type,  sensitive,  independent, 
and  retiring.  The  normal  bear  is  good-tempered 
and  cheerful. 

A  grizzly  placed  in  new  environment  in  associa- 
tion with  men  will  respond  happily  only  to  consid- 
erate handling  and  proper  feeding.  Tell  me  what  a 
bear  is  fed  and  how,  and  I  will  tell  you  what  the 
bear  is  —  his  disposition  and  health.  A  grizzly 
230 


should  be  fed  by  no  one  except  his  keeper.  If  any 
one  and  every  one  feed  a  bear,  he  is  likely  to  re- 
ceive food  that  he  ought  not  to  eat  and  to  have  it 
given  in  a  manner  annoying  to  him.  Feeding  is  the 
vital  consideration  for  grizzly  pets,  for  grizzlies  in 
zoos,  and  for  grizzlies  in  National  Parks. 

When  I  arrived  in  Colorado,  in  1884,  grizzlies 
were  still  common  throughout  the  mountain  areas 
of  the  State.  They  were  numerous  in  a  few  rugged 
sections  where  there  were  but  few  people  and 
plenty  of  food.  In  the  Long's  Peak  region  around 
my  cabin,  I  early  discovered  the  tracks  of  five 
grizzlies.  One  or  two  missing  toes  or  some  other 
peculiarity  enabled  me  to  determine  the  number. 
Two  of  these  bears  ranged  near,  and  I  had  frequent 
glimpses  of  them. 

During  the  autumn  of  one  year,  1893  as  I  re- 
member, I  crossed  the  mountains  between  Trap- 
per's Lake  and  Long's  Peak.  Snow  covered  most  of 
the  ground.  During  the  eight  days  which  this  trip 
occupied  I  must  have  seen  the  tracks  of  between 
forty  and  forty-five  grizzlies.  I  counted  the  tracks 
of  eleven  in  one  half-day.  But  grizzlies  decreased  in 
numbers  rapidly.  Numerous  hunters  came  into  the 
State  annually.  Stockmen  and  settlers  hunted  griz- 
231 


zlies  for  fun  and  for  their  hides,  and  professional 
hunters  for  revenue.  Altogether,  the  grizzly  had 
little  chance  for  his  life,  and  only  a  few  survived. 

In  the  settlement  of  the  West  many  of  the  griz- 
zlies had  to  go.  Men  came  in  with  flocks  of  sheep 
and  herds  of  cattle.  The  grizzlies'  food  was  taken 
or  driven  off.  Rarely  did  a  grizzly  kill  any  of  the 
invading  stock.  Usually  he  worked  harder  for  a 
living  and  took  things  philosophically.  Many  griz- 
zlies were  killed  and  a  few  sought  homes  elsewhere. 
But  in  the  West  there  are  still  many  wild  regions, 
and  in  these  there  is  room  for  the  grizzly. 

There  is  a  wonderful  unwritten  story  of  the  mak- 
ing of  an  empire  —  the  Yellowstone  —  into  a  wild- 
life reservation.  Big  game  had  long  been  hunted  in 
this  region.  The  grizzly  bear,  since  his  discovery, 
had  been  relentlessly  pursued;  man  with  every 
conceivable  contrivance  was  on  his  trail  day  and 
night;  there  was  no  quarter  and  no  hope  for  peace. 
But  suddenly  firing  ceased  and  pursuit  stopped. 
This  was  epoch-marking.  "What  can  it  mean?" 
the  grizzlies  must  have  instantly  asked.  They  must 
have  asked  it  over  and  over  again.  But  they 
quickly  accepted  it  as  a  fact  and  as  an  advantage, 
and  came  forth  to  associate  peacefully  with  man. 
232 


A  BLACK  BEAR  AND  CUBS 


Qtexo  (Bmtotronmente 

This  has  made  a  change  worth  while  for  man. 
Since  shooting  has  stopped,  thousands  have  seen 
the  grizzly  and  enjoyed  him  where  only  one  saw 
him  before. 

The  grizzly  is  easily  the  most  popular  animal  in 
the  National  Parks.  He  really  is  the  greatest  ani- 
mal on  the  continent.  The  grizzly  walks :  there  is  a 
dignity,  a  lordliness  of  carriage,  and  an  indifference 
to  all  the  world  that  impress  themselves  on  the  at- 
tention. Some  one  speaks  quietly  to  him:  he  halts, 
stands  on  hind  legs,  and  shows  a  childlike  eager- 
ness of  interest  in  his  expressive  face.  His  attitude 
and  responsiveness  are  most  companionable  and 
never  fail  to  awake  the  best  in  every  one  who  sees 
him  in  these  moments. 

Some  one  told  me  the  following  amusing  incident 
concerning  a  grizzly.  In  the  southwest  corner  of 
Yellowstone  Park  a  number  of  boys  were  bathing 
in  a  stream,  when  a  young  grizzly  came  along  and 
for  a  moment  stood  watching  their  pranks.  Then 
he  slipped  quietly  behind  some  trees  upon  the  bank 
of  the  stream.  When  the  boys  approached  this 
spot,  with  a  wild  "Woof,  woof,"  he  leaped  into  the 
water  among  them.  This  caused  great  excitement 
and  merriment,  plainly  just  what  he  desired.  As  he 
233 


swam  hurriedly  away,  he  looked   back  over   his 
shoulder  with  satisfaction. 

Another  amusing  incident  also  happened  in  the 
Yellowstone.  As  the  stage  arrived  at  the  Canon 
Hotel,  one  of  the  passengers,  who  had  been  having 
much  to  say  concerning  bears,  put  on  his  raincoat 
and  got  down  on  all  fours,  proceeding  to  imperson- 
ate a  bear.  While  this  demonstration  was  on  a  griz- 
zly arrived.  He  made  a  rush  at  the  man  and  chased 
him  up  a  tree,  amid  laughter  and  excitement.  The 
bear  made  no  attempt  to  harm  any  one  and  plainly 
enjoyed  this  prank  merely  as  a  prank. 

A  grizzly  mother  in  Yellowstone  Park  was  catch- 
ing trout  for  her  cubs  one  June  day  of  1891,  when  a 
friend  and  I  came  along.  We  went  near  to  watch 
them.  Mother  grizzly  charged;  we  fled.  After  one 
leap  she  stood  still  and  appeared  to  be  almost  grin- 
ning at  us.  We  went  back,  she  charged,  and  again 
we  ran,  although  she  stopped  at  the  end  of  the  first 
leap.  But  the  third  time  she  leaped  at  us  we  stood 
our  ground.  She  growled  but  came  no  nearer.  Al- 
though her  threats  did  not  appear  to  be  in  earnest, 
we  did  not  risk  going  closer;  nor  would  I  have 
risked  standing  even  at  that  distance  if  we  had 
been  outside  of  the  Park  boundary. 
234 


Qtoo  <t£mnronm*nfe 

One  day  I  saw  a  bear  who  appeared  to  be  suffer- 
ing from  a  headache.  A  short  time  before  he  had 
eaten  an  enormous  quantity  of  garbage.  This  may 
have  been  his  first  dinner  at  a  garbage-pile.  Stand- 
ing up,  he  felt  of  his  head  with  first  one  fore  paw 
and  then  the  other.  Then,  lying  down,  he  endeav- 
ored to  hold  his  head  in  both  fore  paws.  He  had 
just  thrust  it  into  a  stream  and  was  trying  to  rub  it 
with  his  paw  when  I  last  saw  him.  On  another  oc- 
casion I  noticed  a  bear  suffering  from  a  toothache. 
He  felt  of  his  tooth,  clawed  at  it,  and  in  a  number 
of  other  ways  showed  his  annoyance. 

In  the  Yellowstone  the  environment  of  grizzlies 
was  radically  changed  when  it  became  a  wild-life 
reservation.  The  numerous  bear-population  quickly 
discovered  that  in  the  Park  it  would  not  be  shot  at. 
Grizzlies  at  once  wandered  about  near  people  with 
no  attempt  to  conceal  themselves  and  with  the 
best  of  manners;  there  was  no  annoying  of  people, 
no  crossness,  no  ferocity.  This  ideal  association  of 
people  and  grizzly  bears  went  on  unmarred  for 
years. 

Numbers  of  bears  from  far  outside  Park  bound- 
aries came  to  spend  two  or  three  months  of  each 
summer  there,  returning  to  home  territory  during 
235 


the  autumn.  Other  grizzlies  left  their  homes  outside 
the  Bark  and  moved  in  to  stay.  Whether  the  sum- 
mer migrant  bears  or  the  recent  residents  came  to 
the  Park  because  of  the  food,  the  safety,  or  both  is 
difficult  to  say.  Unusual  opportunities  were  fur- 
nished Park  visitors  to  study  and  observe  the  griz- 
zly, with  beneficial  influence  on  themselves.  But 
their  worrying  of  the  bears  in  time  proved  harmful. 

The  bears  were  thoughtlessly  betrayed.  Increas- 
ing numbers  of  visitors  produced  large  garbage- 
piles.  People  came  to  the  garbage-piles  to  watch 
the  bears  feed  and  often  teased  them.  The  bears 
became  cross.  Sometimes  there  were  fights  among 
the  assembled  bears  over  the  smelly  feasts.  The 
charity  of  the  garbage-pile  led  them  into  bad  hab- 
its, upset  their  digestions,  and  ruined  their  dispo- 
sitions. But  their  appetite  for  garbage  increased 
until  they  became  food  pensioners  and  garbage 
drunkards.  Like  some  humans  they  enjoy  being 
pensioners  and  insist  on  being  supplied.  If  there 
wasn't  enough  garbage  they  raided  camps  and 
hotels.  If  their  raid  was  interrupted  they  resented 
it.  In  due  time  a  few  of  the  most  dyspeptic  bears 
became  bold  and  defiant  raiders. 

The  Park  is  visited  by  thousands  for  whom  the 
236 


bears  should  be  a  source  of  relaxation  and  furnish 
new  interests  and  enjoyment.  But  the  bears  are 
becoming  unhealthy  and  are  a  menace  to  people. 
Now  and  then  some  official  tries  to  cure  the  bear 
trouble  by  having  a  number  of  bears  roped,  tied, 
and  whipped.  Occasionally  a  bear  is  shot.  There 
are  those  who  advocate  that  the  guides  and  offi- 
cials of  the  Park  carry  guns;  and  still  others  are 
advocating  the  extermination  of  the  grizzly.  We 
need  the  grizzly.  Most  cures  proposed  are  worse 
than  his  trouble.  But  there  is  a  prevention  in  sim- 
ply no  garbage-piles. 

In  the  Glacier  National  Park,  which  has  been  a 
wild-life  reservation  only  since  1910,  the  grizzlies 
have  not  yet  become  demoralized  by  garbage.  The 
grizzly  bear  situation  in  the  Yellowstone  is  a  seri- 
ous and  even  an  alarming  one,  and  what  exists 
here  is  certain  to  develop  in  other  Parks.  The  de- 
moralizing factors  are  likely  to  be  expanded  and 
not  diminished.  Then,  too,  in  the  Yellowstone  this 
continuous  eating  of  garbage  may  ere  long  bring  on 
a  pestilence  among  the  grizzlies,  or  possibly  put  a 
check  on  the  number  of  cubs  born.  The  whole  situ- 
ation appears  to  be  embraced  in  what  I  have  pre- 
viously said  about  what  a  grizzly  is  fed  and  how. 
237 


The  grizzly  has  not  lost  all  his  old  instincts  in 
the  Park.  Around  the  garbage-piles  he  is  a  lazy, 
cross  pensioner.  But  away  from  them,  and  espe- 
cially where  he  ranges  outside  of  the  Park,  the 
same  bear  is  as  alert  and  as  energetic  as  ever  in 
getting  a  living  and  watching  out  for  his  safety. 
They  are  tame  near  garbage-piles  but  a  short  dis- 
tance away  are  wild.  They  are  comparatively  easy 
to  trap  near  the  garbage-piles,  where  they  will 
enter  a  trap-door;  but  the  same  bear  outside  the 
Park  is  extremely  wary  and  avoids  going  near  a 
trap.  Says  William  H.  Wright,  in  "The  Grizzly 
Bear":- 

"Altogether  I  did  not  find  the  grizzlies  of  Yel- 
lowstone Park  in  any  degree  more  tame  or  less 
cunning  than  they  are  to-day,  for  example,  in  the 
Selkirks.  Many  of  them,  it  is  true,  come  to  the 
garbage-piles  to  feed,  but  these  very  bears,  fifty 
yards  back  in  the  timber,  are  again  as  wild  as  any 
of  them  anywhere.  At  the  canon,  the  garbage-pile 
is  in  a  hollow  at  the  foot  of  rather  a  steep  incline 
that  leads  up  to  the  edge  of  the  woods.  Bear  after 
bear,  coming  down  the  trails  that  converge  toward 
this  point,  will  stop  as  he  reaches  the  brink  of  this 
declivity,  glance  downward,  turn  his  head  from 
238 


(Bmtoironmenfe 

side  to  side,  and  launch  himself  down  hill,  with  the 
same  air  of  committing  himself  to  a  foreign  ele- 
ment that  one  sees  in  the  upward  glance  and  deep 
breath  of  a  man  launching  himself  from  a  diving 
board.  On  their  return,  they  invariably  halted  for  a 
few  seconds  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  looked  around, 
occasionally  shook  themselves,  and  with  their  first 
step  up  the  familiar  trail,  resumed  every  sign  of 
their  habitual  caution  and  alertness.  While  on  the 
garbage-pile  itself,  they  appear  to  pay  scant  at- 
tention to  the  people  gathered  behind  the  fairly 
distant  wire  fence,  but  even  there,  an  eye  familiar 
with  their  actions  would  note  the  constant  watch 
they  kept  on  what  was  going  on  and  the  hurried 
way  in  which  they  fed ;  and,  fifty  feet  from  the  edge 
of  the  surrounding  timber,  they  would  at  the  least 
scent  or  sound  or  sight,  bolt  as  incontinently  as  in 
the  farthest  hills.  Grizzlies  are  no  more  plentiful 
around  the  Park  to-day  than  they  were  twenty- 
five  years  ago  in  the  Bitter  Roots,  and  a  hundred 
yards  from  the  garbage-pile  they  are  no  different." 
Apparently  young  bears  do  not  inherit  fear  of  a 
trap,  for  they  are  easily  trapped.  Young  bears 
in  captivity  sometimes  exhibit  inherited  instincts ; 
they  may  be  pleasurably  excited  with  the  scent  of 

239 


food  never  before  seen;  and  they  will  sometimes 
dig  down  for  a  hidden  root  of  a  kind  that  their 
parents  ate  but  which  they  themselves  had  never 
seen.  In  these  cases  of  digging,  they  either  dug 
at  the  right  place  from  scent,  or  from  inherited 
memory  of  place.  There  was  nothing  on  the  sur- 
face to  indicate  the  presence  of  buried  roots  be- 
neath. 

The  young  of  most  animals,  wild  or  tame,  make 
interesting  pets.  But  of  all  the  pets  I  have  known, 
none  equal  grizzly  cubs  for  energy,  alertness,  and 
individuality.  They  take  naturally  to  new,  un- 
natural environments.  A  grizzly  cub  learns  speed- 
ily and  from  the  first  tries  to  know  everything 
around  him.  So  all-knowing  are  his  senses  and  his 
instincts  that  the  approach  of  anything  new  at 
once  attracts  him;  he  stops  play  and  with  rare 
curiosity  and  concentration  tries  to  understand  it. 
If  he  solve  the  mystery  he  promptly  continues 
play  at  the  point  where  he  left  it. 

"Baby  Sylvester"  is  a  celebrated  bear  story  by 
Bret  Harte  that  characteristically  and  humorously 
describes  a  bear  in  new  environments.  This  little 
bear  lost  none  of  his  native  energy,  alertness,  and 
versatility  under  changed  and  unexacting  condi- 
240 


tions.  The  way  he  handled  every  situation  was  a 
constant  surprise  and  delight. 

Pet  cubs,  if  gently  treated,  quickly  accept  and 
make  the  best  of  new  environment;  they  become 
intimate  and  loving,  in  fact  most  intensely  so.  If 
handled  kindly,  the  cub  is  willing  to  do  everything 
reasonable,  everything  he  understands  one  wants 
done.  But  whip  or  scold  him,  and  he  at  once  be- 
comes stubborn  and  unwilling,  reserved  and  cross. 
The  grizzly  is  an  animal  of  high  type  and  to  have 
him  develop  his  best  he  needs  fine,  high  considera- 
tion. 

The  grizzly's  real  character  stands  out  when  he 
is  associated  with  man.  He  is  ever  true  to  himself. 
A  dog  will  lick  the  hand  of  a  cruel  master  or  fawn 
on  a  most  unworthy  one.  Not  so  the  grizzly;  he 
will  not  go  down  in  the  dust.  Only  a  uniformly  just 
man  can  win  his  loyalty  or  retain  his  friendship ;  he 
has  individuality  and  self-respect  and  will  not  will- 
ingly serve  a  tyrant  or  even  bow  to  him.  The  wear- 
ing of  a  hat,  the  holding  of  a  pipe,  the  sitting  up  in 
a  silly  attitude,  tricks  which  many  dogs  do  to 
please  a  master,  the  grizzly  will  do  only  under  com- 
pulsion. The  grizzly  is  ever  faithful  and  loyal  to  a 
worthy  master;  he  will  do  unto  you  as  you  do  unto 
241 


him.  Elsewhere  in  this  book  I  give  a  number  of 
stories  which  show  the  high  character  and  the  great 
possibilities  of  the  grizzly  as  a  companion  of  man 
if  handled  intelligently. 

In  eastern  Washington,  "Grizzly"  Adams  cap- 
tured a  yearling  grizzly  which  he  named  Lady 
Washington.  With  her  he  used  but  little  discipline, 
and  he  at  all  times  treated  her  with  consideration 
and  kindness.  She  was  constantly  with  him  on  long 
journeys  across  the  mountains  from  State  to  State, 
in  camp  and  on  hunts.  Of  her  Adams  says :  — 

"She  has  always  been  with  me;  and  often  shared 
my  dangers  and  privations,  borne  my  burdens,  and 
partaken  of  my  meals.  The  reader  may  be  sur- 
prised to  hear  of  a  grizzly  companion  and  friend, 
but  Lady  Washington  has  been  both  to  me.  He 
may  hardly  credit  the  accounts  of  my  nestling  up 
between  her  and  the  fire  to  keep  both  sides  warm 
under  the  frosty  skies  of  the  mountains,  but  all  this 
is  true." 

The  ability  to  comprehend  a  new  situation  or 
incident  and  readjust  one's  self  to  it  is  the  act  of 
an  open  and  a  thinking  mind.  The  food,  religion, 
politics,  and  personal  habits  of  an  individual  are 
changed  slowly  and  with  difficulty.  Progress  is 
242 


dSntotronmenfe 

constantly  being  held  back  by  old  customs  —  the 
inability  of  the  race  to  form  new  habits  meet- 
ing new  conditions.  Many  species  of  extinct  ani- 
mals have  perished  because  of  over-specialization. 
"Leave  your  prejudice  at  home"  was  the  best  ad- 
vice I  received  just  prior  to  a  trip  to  Europe.  Preju- 
dice and  its  allied  mental  conditions  are  binding 
and  delaying.  The  grizzly  does  not  allow  old  preju- 
dice to  prevent  his  exploring  for  new  information, 
and  he  is  ever  ready  for  something  new  in  his  en- 
vironment. 

In  a  generation  or  two  the  grizzly  has  become 
expert  in  eluding  the  pursuer;  he  rivals  the  fox  in 
concealing  his  trail,  in  confounding  the  trailer  and 
escaping  with  his  life.  That  he  has  developed  this 
trait  since  coming  in  contact  with  the  white  man 
and  the  repeating  rifle  —  out  of  necessity  —  there 
can  be  no  doubt.  Formerly,  the  rightful  monarch 
of  the  wilds  through  superiority,  he  roamed  freely 
about,  indifferent  as  to  where  he  went  or  whether 
or  not  he  was  seen.  He  has  been  wise  enough  to 
readjust  himself  to  the  evolutionary  and  revolu- 
tionary forces  introduced  by  man.  The  king  of  the 
wilderness  has  survived  through  retreat;  he  has 
become  the  master  of  strategy.  Instinct  hardly 
243 


accounts  for  this  swift  evolution.  The  readjust- 
ment —  avoiding  man  —  does  not  indicate  coward- 
ice; it  indicates  brains.  In  the  warfare  of  existence, 
in  changing,  exacting  environments,  the  grizzly  bear 
has  risen  triumphant. 


ipfton,  £)t*lorj>,  anb 


©escripfton,  f)f0fot£,  anb 


BEARS  appear  to  be  of  Old  World  origin.  Fos- 
sils tell  of  their  existence  in  Asia  eons  ago. 
The  first  bear  emigrants  perhaps  landed  in  Alaska 
more  than  a  million  years  ago.  They  may  have 
come  over  on  one  of  the  land  bridges  which  have 
at  times  connected  Asia  and  America. 

"In  the  Old  World,  bears  were  first  distinguish- 
able hi  the  Upper  Miocene,  and  may  there  be 
traced  back  to  forms  which  were  unmistakably  de- 
rivatives of  the  early  dogs,"  says  Mr.  William  B. 
Scott  in  "A  History  of  Land  Mammals  in  the 
Western  Hemisphere." 

It  is  interesting  that  bears,  dogs,  and  seals  de- 
scended from  a  common  ancestor.  Seals  have  been 
called  "sea  bears."  The  bear  lives  for  a  long  period 
each  year  without  either  food  or  drink.  During  this 
period  he  lies  dormant.  The  seal  has  the  habit  of 
doing  without  food  and  drink  and  also  sleep  for 
weeks  while  leading  an  active  life.  The  bear  and 
247 


the  dog  are  alike  in  many  ways.  Both  accept  do- 
mestication readily  and  both  become  loyal  and  in- 
timate associates  of  man.  Many  of  their  ways  in 
play  are  alike,  and  each  has  the  habit  of  sometimes 
becoming  restless  in  his  home  locality  and  travel- 
ing afar  for  adventure. 

In  North  America  bears  have  branched  out  into 
numerous  species,  and  here  they  have  attained  their 
greatest  development.  South  America  has,  perhaps, 
only  one  small  species,  and  Africa  only  one.  Europe 
and  Asia  combined  are  accredited  with  having  eight 
species. 

The  grizzly  is  distributed  over  the  western  half 
of  North  America,  from  northern  Alaska  far  down 
into  Mexico.  His  home  is  more  generally  in  the 
mountains.  He  is  also  found  in  the  barren  lands  of 
Canada,  in  the  Bad  Lands  of  the  Upper  Missouri, 
and  in  the  western  margin  of  the  Great  Plains.  On 
a  number  of  the  wilderness  islands  of  the  Alaskan 
and  Northwest  Coast,  where  he  is  of  unusually 
large  size,  he  forms  a  numerous  population. 

The  similarity  of  the  mental  processes  and  the 
customs  of  the  various  species  of  Alaskan  bears  has 
been  remarked  upon  by  many  people.  Mr.  Charles 
Sheldon,  the  hunter-scientist,  says:  — 
248 


anb 

"Nothing  is  more  striking  than  the  general  simi- 
larity in  nature,  actions,  appearance,  and  habits  of 
both  the  brown  bears  of  the  humid  coast  region  of 
Alaska  and  the  grizzlies  of  the  dry  interior.  The 
several  species  of  both  the  coast  and  inland  bears 
differ  more  or  less  widely  in  size,  anatomy,  color, 
and  claws,  but  no  one  can  observe  them  in  their 
natural  habitats  without  realizing  that  all  have  de- 
scended from  a  common  ancestor." 

The  little  that  I  have  seen  of  the  polar  bear  sug- 
gests to  me  that  he  may  be  related  to  the  grizzly. 
It  is  interesting  that  the  coats  of  the  polar  bear 
are  uniformly  white,  while  those  of  the  grizzly  are 
of  assorted  colors. 

The  grizzly  is  scattered  over  a  vast  and  varied 
range,  feeds  on  a  variety  of  food,  and  is  divided  into 
numerous  species  and  subspecies,  but  he  ever  runs 
true  to  character,  everywhere  is  one  hundred  per 
cent  grizzly.  The  chief  points  of  dissimilarity  in  the 
different  species  are  the  shape  of  the  skull  and  the 
character  of  the  teeth.  Rarely  is  there  any  differ- 
ence apparent  in  the  living  animals;  the  classifica- 
tion is  determined  chiefly  from  the  teeth  and  the 
formation  of  the  skull.  , 

Color  is  no  clue  to  the  species.  Color  may  vary  as 
249 


much  in  one  species,  or  even  in  one  litter  of  cubs,  as 
in  different  species  widely  separated  as  to  locality. 
Assemble  a  number  of  grizzlies  representing  each 
of  the  many  species  and  subspecies,  and  there  will 
be  a  bewildering  array  of  fur  coats,  perhaps  no  two 
alike.  However,  as  I  have  said,  the  grizzly's  char- 
acteristics are  ever  the  same,  no  matter  what  the 
color  of  his  coat  or  where  he  lives.  Wherever  you 
see  a  grizzly,  —  on  the  glaciers  of  Alaska,  on  the 
desert  sands  of  Mexico,  or  fishing  in  the  Columbia, 
—  he  seems  as  much  the  same  old  acquaintance  as 
the  bluebird  who  comes  each  spring. 

The  color  of  the  species  runs  through  many 
shades  of  brown:  among  them  are  cream,  tan, 
mouse-color,  cinnamon,  and  golden  yellow.  Black 
or  almost  white  may  be  the  fur  of  the  grizzly,  but 
shades  of  gray  and  brown  predominate.  Infre- 
quently a  grizzly  is  seen  with  a  coat  of  more  than 
one  color.  This  variety  of  color  causes  confusion 
concerning  species,  but  within  the  bounds  of  the 
United  States,  outside  of  Alaska,  there  are  virtu- 
ally only  two  kinds  of  bear,  the  black  and  the  griz- 
zly, though  these  are  divided  by  naturalists  into 
many  species  and  subspecies  according  to  the  ar- 
rangement and  forms  of  their  teeth  and  the  bones  of 
250 


the  head.  Cinnamon  and  brown  are  common  colors 
of  both  grizzlies  and  black  bears. 

The  fur  of  the  grizzly,  like  any  fur,  is  composed 
of  a  fine,  thick  fleece  lining  and  long,  coarse  hairs 
which  project  from  it.  The  under  fur  may  be  of  any 
color,  but  the  hairs  that  project  through  this  are,  I 
believe,  invariably  dark  with  a  silver  tip.  Com- 
monly the  fur  is  long  and  shaggy  on  the  grizzly's 
flanks  and  shoulders. 

The  grizzly  is  from  six  to  seven  feet  long  and  in 
contour  is  pointed  in  front,  and  heavy,  though  well- 
rounded,  behind.  His  shoulders  are  high.  The  body 
of  the  grizzly  is  longer,  straighter  along  the  back 
line,  and  less  humped  on  the  haunches  than  the 
black  bear's.  The  grizzly's  head  is  narrower,  the 
jaws  and  nose  longer  and  less  blunt,  than  the 
black's. 

The  grizzly  always  appears  larger  than  he  really 
is.  The  average  weight  is  between  three  hundred 
and  fifty  and  six  hundred  pounds;  males  weigh  a 
fourth  more  than  females.  Few  grizzlies  weigh 
more  than  seven  hundred  pounds,  though  excep- 
tional specimens  are  known  to  have  weighed  more 
than  one  thousand.  Adams  gave  the  weight  of 
"Samson,"  a  California  grizzly,  as  fifteen  hundred 
251 


pounds,  and  a  few  Alaskan  grizzlies,  judging  by 
their  skins,  may  have  weighed  more  than  "Sam- 
son." It  may  be  that  years  ago,  when  not  so  closely 
hunted,  the  grizzly  lived  longer  and  grew  to  a 
larger  size  than  he  attains  to-day. 

The  grizzly  looks  capable  and  substantial.  His 
massive  proportions  suggest  strength  rather  than 
bulk.  With  back  broad  and  well-rounded,  and  feet 
pulled  well  together  beneath  him,  he  may  at  first 
appearance  seem  top-heavy.  But  this  impression  is 
forgotten  the  instant  his  movements  display  his 
ease  of  adjustment  and  nicety  of  balance.  Without 
effort  he  raises  himself  on  hind  legs  to  his  full 
height  gracefully  and  stands  with  the  repose  of  a 
statue. 

Many  of  his  movements  appear  awkward  and 
clumsy.  He  is  loose- jointed  and  sometimes  is  rather 
lumbering;  he  often  shuffles  as  though  wearing  a 
large,  loose  wooden  shoe  on  each  foot.  Commonly 
he  travels  along  with  a  gait  neither  walk  nor  trot. 
Yet  the  bear  is  exceedingly  speedy  and  few  horses 
can  overtake  him.  His  endurance  is  astounding. 

He  has  extraordinary  strength.  I  have  known 
him  to  drag  the  carcass  of  a  cow  or  a  steer  of  twice 
his  own  weight.  In  several  instances  this  was 
252 


anb 

dragged  up  the  mountain-side  over  fallen  logs,  yet 
it  was  apparently  moved  without  extraordinary 
effort. 

The  grizzly  is  exceptionally  expert  and  agile 
with  his  paws.  With  either  fore  paw  he  can  strike 
like  a  sledge-hammer  or  lift  a  heavy  weight.  He 
boxes  or  strikes  with  lightning-like  rapidity.  Most 
grizzlies  are  right-handed;  that  is,  the  right  fore 
paw  is  most  used.  If  a  small  object  is  to  be  touched 
or  moved,  he  will  daintily  use  but  one  claw.  The 
black  bear  would  use  the  entire  paw. 

The  fore-foot  prints  made  by  the  grizzly  are 
much  shorter  than  the  tracks  made  by  his  hind 
feet.  His  hind  foot  leaves  a  track  similar  to  the  bare- 
footed track  of  a  man,  while  the  track  of  the  fore 
foot  has  the  appearance  of  the  grizzly's  having 
walked  upon  the  front  of  his  foot,  —  the  ball  and 
toes,  —  with  the  heel  upraised.  The  fore  claws  are 
from  two  to  five  inches  long,  the  hind  claws  much 
shorter. 

The  fore  ankles  of  the  grizzly  are  smaller  than 
the  black  bear's,  the  hind  feet  relatively  larger;  the 
claws  are  much  longer  and  less  curved.  The  griz- 
zly's claws  do  not  curve  as  sharply  downward  as  a 
.black's,  but  the  claw-points  extend  well  beyond 
253 


the  ends  of  the  toes.  The  black's  curved  claws  are 
much  used  in  climbing;  the  grizzly's  claws  are  used 
mostly  for  digging. 

The  largest  grizzly-track  that  I  have  measured 
was  slightly  more  than  thirteen  inches  long,  and 
seven  and  one  half  inches  wide  at  the  widest  point. 
These  measurements  did  not  include  the  claw- 
marks.  In  places  where  this  bear  had  slipped  on 
snowy  or  muddy  ground  the  track  with  claw- 
marks  was  of  most  formidable  appearance.  Many 
of  the  big  Alaskan  grizzlies  have  large  feet,  some- 
times making  a  track  eighteen  inches  in  length. 
However,  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  I  have  seen  a 
large  track  that  had  been  made  by  a  compara- 
tively small  bear.  More  than  once  I  have  seen 
bears  weighing  less  than  four  hundred  pounds 
whose  feet  were  larger  than  those  of  other  bears 
who  weighed  upwards  of  six  hundred  pounds.  A 
large  grizzly  bear  track  does  not  necessarily  indi- 
cate that  it  is  the  track  of  a  large  bear. 

There  is  marked  difference  in  the  ordinary  ways 
of  the  black  and  the  grizzly.  The  grizzly  is  ener- 
getic, thorough,  works  hard,  and  takes  life  rather 
seriously;  while  the  black  bear  is  lazy,  careless, 
does  no  more  work  each  day  than  is  necessary,  and 
254 


anb  (Dfomficafton 


is  more  playful.  The  grizzly's  hibernating-den  is 
usually  a  substantial,  complete  affair,  while  that 
of  the  black  bear  is  more  or  less  of  a  makeshift. 
The  black  bear  likes  to  play  with  other  bears, 
while  the  grizzly  enjoys  playing  alone.  The  black 
climbs  a  tree  easily  and  often  sleeps  in  a  tree- 
top;  the  grizzly  bear  rarely  climbs  after  he  passes 
cubhood. 

Most  of  the  time  the  grizzly  is  silent.  When  he 
does  say  anything  it  is  in  a  queer,  but  expressive, 
language.  He  utters  a  choppy  champ  of  a  cough  ;  he 
says  "Woof,"  "Woof,"  with  various  accents;  he 
growls  eloquently;  he  grunts  and  he  sniffs.  The 
youngsters  say  something  like  "  Eu-wow-wow," 
and  when  forlorn  give  an  appealing  cry  I  cannot 
translate  into  words. 

Little  is  known  concerning  the  mating-habits  of 
wild  grizzly  bears.  The  majority  of  authorities 
maintain  that  mating  takes  place  in  June  and  July, 
while  a  few  believe  that  it  occurs  late  in  the  au- 
tumn. The  few  times  that  I  have  seen  males  and 
females  together  were  in  late  June  and  July. 

Although  known  to  the  white  race  only  a  little 
more  than  a  century,  the  grizzly  has  been  a  part 
of  the  life  and  legends  of  the  Indians  for  countless 
255 


generations.  Often  feared,  frequently  admired,  his 
brain  and  brawn  are  featured  again  and  again ;  he 
is  always  the  acknowledged  chief  and  master  of  the 
wilderness. 

Many  are  the  names  that  he  carries:  grizzly 
bear,  silver-tip,  white  bear,  bald-face,  cinnamon 
bear,  roach-back,  range  bear,  and  others. 

The  first  printed  mention  of  the  grizzly  that  I 
know  of  is  one  by  Edward  Umfreville,  who,  in 
writing  concerning  Hudson's  Bay  in  1790,  men- 
tions the  "Grizzle  Bear."  In  1795  Sir  Alexander 
MacKenzie  writes  of  the  "Grisly  Bear."  But  the 
grizzly  was  given  a  definite  place  in  history  when 
Lewis  and  Clark  mentioned  him  hi  their  Journal, 
in  April,  1805,  as  the  "white  bear."  Much  that 
they  wrote  was  made  public,  and  the  bear's  career 
started,  by  Governor  DeWitt  Clinton  in  an  ad- 
dress before  the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society 
of  New  York,  May  4,  1814. 

As  is  shown  by  Guthrie's  Geography,  George 
Ord,  the  naturalist,  described  and  first  classified 
the  grizzly  as  Ursus  horribilis^  in  1815.  This  was 
from  information  which  Brackenridge  had  gath- 
ered, chiefly  from  the  Journal  of  Lewis  and  Clark, 
and  was  based  on  the  "white  bear"  of  the  type 
256 


locality  of  the  Missouri  River  a  little  above  the 
mouth  of  Poplar  River,  northeastern  Montana. 

Dr.  C.  Hart  Merriam  is  the  supreme  authority 
concerning  bears.  Following  I  give  his  classifica- 
tion of  the  grizzly  and  big  brown  bears,  together 
with  quotations  from  his  introduction  to  "North 
American  Fauna,  No.  41"  (1918):  — 

"REVIEW  OF  THE  GRIZZLY  AND  BIG  BROWN  BEARS 

OF  NORTH  AMERICA  (Genus  Ursus) 

"WITH  DESCRIPTION  OF  A  NEW  GENUS 

VETULARCTOS 

"When  Audubon  and  Bachman  published  their 
great  work  on  the  Mammals  of  North  America 
(1846-1854),  and  in  fact  up  to  the  year  1857,  it  was 
commonly  believed  by  naturalists  as  well  as  by 
hunters  and  the  public  generally  that  there  was 
only  a  single  species  of  grizzly  bear  —  the  one  de- 
scribed by  Lewis  and  Clark  in  1804-5,  and  named 
Ursus  horribilis  by  Ord  in  1815.  Baird,  in  1857,  de- 
scribed another  species,  from  Coppermines,  New 
Mexico,  which  he  named  Ursus  horri&us. 

"Nearly  forty  years  later,  in  my  'Preliminary 
Synopsis  of  the  American  Bears,'  eight  grizzlies 
and  big  brown  bears  were  recognized,  of  which  five 
257 


were  described  as  new.  It  was  not  then  suspected 
that  the  number  remaining  to  be  discovered  was 
anything  like  so  great  as  has  since  proved  to  be  the 
case.  The  steady  influx  of  specimens  resulting  from 
the  labors  of  the  Biological  Survey,  supplemented 
by  the  personal  efforts  of  a  number  of  hunter- 
naturalists,  brought  to  light  many  surprises,  most 
of  which  have  been  published;  and  beginning  in 
the  spring  of  1910,  a  fund  placed  at  my  disposal 
made  it  possible  to  offer  hunters  and  trappers 
sufficient  inducement  to  tempt  them  to  exert  them- 
selves in  securing  needed  specimens.  As  a  result,  the 
national  collection  of  bears  has  steadily  grown  un- 
til, in  number  of  species  represented,  in  complete- 
ness of  series,  and  in  number  of  type  specimens, 
it  now  far  excels  all  other  collections  in  the  world 
together. 

"  Nevertheless  there  are  many  gaps  in  the  series. 
Knowledge  of  the  big  bears  is  by  no  means  com- 
plete and  many  years  must  pass  before  the  last  word 
on  the  subject  will  be  written.  Many  bears  now 
roaming  the  wilds  will  have  to  be  killed  and  their 
skulls  and  skins  sent  to  museums  before  their  char- 
acters and  variations  will  be  fully  understood  and 
before  it  will  be  possible  to  construct  accurate  maps 
258 


anb  Cftasificatfon 


of  their  ranges.  Persons  having  the  means  and 
ambition  to  hunt  big  game  may  be  assured  that 
bears  are  still  common  in  many  parts  of  British 
Columbia,  Yukon  Territory,  and  Alaska,  and  that 
much  additional  material  is  absolutely  required 
to  settle  questions  still  in  doubt.  .  .  . 

"Some  writers  have  advanced  the  view  that  the 
various  species  of  bears  freely  interbreed.  Let  those 
so  minded  ask  themselves  the  question,  If  pro- 
miscuous interbreeding  were  to  take  place,  what 
would  become  of  the  species?  From  the  nature  of 
the  case,  the  stability  of  species  depends  on  the 
rarity  of  crossings  with  other  species,  for  if  inter- 
breeding were  to  take  place  frequently  the  species 
so  interbreeding  would  of  course  cease  to  exist, 
having  merged  into  a  common  hybrid.  Hybrids 
now  and  then  occur,  particularly  in  zoological 
gardens,  but  among  wild  animals  hi  their  native 
haunts  they  are  exceedingly  rare. 

"The  number  of  species  here  given  will  appear 
to  many  as  preposterous.  To  all  such  I  extend  a 
cordial  invitation  to  visit  the  National  Museum 
and  see  for  themselves  what  the  bear  skulls  show. 
Recognition  of  species  is  a  matter  of  interpreta- 
tion. If  the  material  is  adequate  there  can  be 
259 


little  room  for  difference  of  opinion ;  if  inadequate, 
many  important  points  must  remain  in  doubt. 
It  is  not  the  business  of  the  naturalist  either 
to  create  or  to  suppress  species,  but  to  endeavor 
to  ascertain  how  many  Nature  has  established, 
and  having  discovered  this,  to  point  out  their 
characters  and  learn  as  much  as  possible  about 
them. 

"One  of  the  unlooked-for  results  of  the  critical 
study  of  the  American  bears  is  the  discovery  that 
the  big  bears,  like  mice  and  other  small  mammals, 
split  up  into  a  large  number  of  forms  whose  ranges 
in  some  cases  overlap  so  that  three  or  more  species 
may  be  found  in  the  same  region. 

"Another  surprising  result  is  the  discovery  that 
Admiralty  Island  in  Southwestern  Alaska  appears 
to  be  inhabited  by  no  less  than  five  distinct  species, 
each  of  which  is  obviously  related  to  and  repre- 
sentative of  an  adjacent  mainland  species.  .  .  . 


"In  most  species  of  bears  the  males  are  much 

larger  than  the  females.  In  some  the  disparity  in 

size  is  very  remarkable,  as  in  middendorffi,  of  Ko- 

diak  Island  and  magister  of  southern  California.  In 

260 


an*  Cf  ct**iftcalton 


a  few  cases  the  difference  is  slight,  as  in  kidderi  of 
Alaska  Peninsula. 


"Bear  skulls  undergo  a  series  of  changes  from 
early  life  to  old  age,  and  in  most  species  do  not  at- 
tain their  mature  form  until  seven  or  more  years  of 
age.  In  species  having  the  frontal  shield  highly 
elevated,  as  in  middendorffi,  kluane,  stikeenensis, 
and  mirabilis,  the  frontals  reach  their  maximum  of 
arching  or  bulging  in  early  adult  life  (about  the 
sixth  year),  after  which  they  gradually  become 
flatter.  . 


"The  differences  formerly  supposed  to  exist  be- 
tween the  grizzlies  and  the  big  brown  bears  appear, 
in  the  light  of  the  material  now  available,  to  dis- 
tinguish certain  groups  of  species  from  certain 
other  groups,  rather  than  the  grizzlies  collectively 
from  the  big  brown  bears  collectively.  In  other 
words,  the  differences  between  the  grizzlies  on  the 
one  hand  and  the  big  brown  bears  on  the  other  are 
neither  so  great  nor  so  constant  as  at  one  time  be- 
lieved. And  there  are  species  which  in  the  present 
261 


state  of  knowledge  cannot  be  positively  referred  to 
either  group.  In  fact,  it  seems  at  least  possible  that 
certain  species  which  appear  to  belong  with  the 
grizzlies  are  closely  related  to  certain  other  species 
which  clearly  belong  with  the  big  brown  bears.  The 
typical  brown  bears  differ  from  the  typical  grizzlies 
in  peculiarities  of  color,  claws,  skull,  and  teeth. 
The  color  of  the  former  is  more  uniform,  with  less 
of  the  surface  grizzling  due  to  admixture  of  pale- 
tipped  hairs;  the  claws  are  shorter,  more  curved, 
darker,  and  scurfy  instead  of  smooth;  the  skull  is 
more  massive;  the  fourth  lower  premolar  is  conical, 
lacking  the  sulcate  heel  of  the  true  grizzlies.  But 
these  are  average  differences,  not  one  of  which 
holds  true  throughout  the  group.  Most  of  the  spe- 
cimens in  museums  consist  of  skulls  only,  unac- 
companied by  skins  or  claws,  leaving  a  doubt  as  to 
the  external  characters;  and  in  old  bears  the  im- 
portant fourth  lower  premolar  is  likely  to  be  so 
worn  that  its  original  form  cannot  be  made  out. 
And,  worst  of  all,  some  of  the  grizzlies  lack  the  dis- 
tinctive type  of  premolar,  leaving  only  the  skull  as 
a  guide  to  their  affinities.  The  present  classification, 
therefore,  must  be  regarded  as  tentative  and  sub- 
ject to  revision.  . . . 

262 


"The  present  paper  is  merely  a  review  of  the 
existing  state  of  knowledge  of  the  grizzlies  and  big 
brown  bears  of  America  and  does  not  include 
either  the  polar  or  the  black  bears.  It  is  not  in- 
tended as  a  monographic  revision,  but  aims  to 
supply  a  list  of  the  species,  together  with  descrip- 
tions and  comparisons  of  adult  skulls,  chiefly  males. 
Little  is  said  of  external  characters,  for  the  reason 
that  little  is  known,  only  a  few  skins  with  claws 
being  available  for  study. 

"LIST  OF  SPECIES  AND  SUBSPECIES  OF  GRIZZLY  AND 
BIG  BROWN  BEARS,  WITH  TYPE  LOCALITIES.1 

(Classification  provisional.) 
Horribilis  group: 

Ursus  horribilis  horribilis  Ord.  .Missouri  River,  northeastern 
Montana. 

horribilis  bairdi  Merriam Blue  River,  Summit  County, 

Colorado. 
horribilis  imperator  Merriam.  Yellowstone  National  Park, 

Wyoming. 

chelidonias  nobis Jervis  Inlet,  British   Colum- 
bia. 

atnarko  nobis Atnarko  River,    British    Co- 
lumbia. 

kwakiutl  Merriam Jervis  Inlet,   British  Colum- 
bia. 

1  "  Nearly  130  years  ago  Prof.  Zauschner  proposed  the  name  Ur- 
sus saribur  for  an  animal  '  from  the  region  of  Canada*  (Bestim- 
mung  der  Hundsart  Krokute,  und  der  BSrenart  Saribur,  p.  8, 1788), 
but  the  species  appears  to  be  impossible  of  identification." 

263 


nortoni  Merriam Southeastern  side  Yakutat 

Bay,  Alaska. 

warburtoni  Merriam Atnarko  River,  British  Co- 
lumbia. 

negkctus  Merriam Near  Hawk  Inlet,  Admi- 
ralty Island,  Southeastern 
Alaska. 

calij "ornicus  Merriam Monterey,  California. 

tularensis  Merriam Fort  Tejon,  California. 

colusus  Merriam Sacramento  Valley,  Califor- 
nia. 

dusorgus  nobis1 Jack  Pine  River,  Alberta- 
British  Columbia  bound- 
ary. 

Planiceps  group: 

Urstis  nelsoni  Merriam Colonia  Garcia,  Chihuahua, 

Mexico. 

texensis  texensis  Merriam ....  Davis  Mountains,  Texas. 

texensis  navaho  Merriam Navajo  country   near   Fort 

Defiance,  Arizona.  (Prob- 
ably Chuska  Mts.) 

planiceps  nobis Colorado  (exact  locality  un- 
certain). 

macrodon  nobis Twin  Lakes,  Colorado. 

mirus  nobis Yellowstone  National  Park, 

Wyoming. 

eltonclarki  Merriam Near  Freshwater  Bay,  Chi- 

chagof  Island,  Alaska. 

tahltanicus  Merriam Klappan    Creek    (  =  Third 

South  Fork  Stikine  Riv- 
er), British  Columbia. 

insularis  Merriam Admiralty  Island,  Alaska. 

orgilos  Merriam Bartlett  Bay,  east  side  Gla- 
cier Bay,  Southeastern 
Alaska. 

orgiloides  nobis Italip  River,  Alaska. 

pallasi  Merriam Donjek  River,  southwestern 

Yukon. 

"  Reference  to  group  provisional." 
264 


on 

rungiusi  rungiusi  nobis Rocky  Mountains,  headwa- 
ters Athabaska  River,  Al- 
berta. 

rungiusi  sagittalis  nobis Champagne  Landing,  south- 
western Yukon. 

macfarlani  nobis Anderson  River,  50  miles 

below  Fort  Anderson,  Mac- 
kenzie. 

canadensis  Merriam  1 Moose  Pass,  near  Mount 

Robson,  British  Columbia. 

Arizona  group: 

Ursus  arizontz  Merriam EscudillaMts.,  Apache  Coun- 
ty, Arizona. 

idahoensis  nobis . . . , North    Fork   Teton    River, 

eastern  Idaho. 

pukhellus  pukhellus  nobis Ross  River,  Yukon. 

pukhellus  ereunetes  nobis Beaverfoot    Range,    Koote- 

nay  District,  British  Co- 
lumbia. 

oribasus  nobis Upper  Liard  River,  Yukon. 

chelan  Merriam East    slope    Cascade    Mts., 

Chelan  County,  Wash- 
ington. 

shoshone  Merriam Estes  Park,  Colorado. 

kennerlyi  Merriam Mountains  of  northeastern 

Sonora,  near  Los  Nogales, 
Mexico. 

utahensis  Merriam Salina  Creek,  near  May- 
field,  Utah. 

perturbans  nobis Mount  Taylor,  northern  New 

Mexico. 

rogersi  rogersi  nobis Upper  Greybull  River,  Ab- 

saroka  Mountains,  Wyo- 
ming. 

rogersi  trisonophagus  nobis. .  .Black  Hills  (Bear  Lodge), 
northeastern  Wyoming. 

pervagor  Merriam Pemberton  Lake  (now  Lil- 

looet  Lake),  British  Co- 
lumbia. 

1  "  Reference  to  group  provisional." 
265 


caurinus  Merriam Berners  Bay,  east  side 

Lynn  Canal,  Southeastern 
Alaska. 

eulophus  Merriam Admiralty  Island,  South- 
eastern Alaska. 

klamathensis  Merriam  » Beswick,  near  mouth  Shovel 

Creek,  Klamath  River, 
northern  California. 

mendocinensis  Merriam  * ....  Long  Valley,  Mendocino 
County,  California. 

magister  Merriam  l Los  Biacitos,  Santa  Ana 

Mountains,  Southern  Cal- 
ifornia. 

Hylodromus  group : 

Ursus  hylodromus  Elliot Rocky  Mountains,   western 

Alberta. 

kluane  kluane  Merriam McConnell  River,  Yukon. 

kluane  impiger  nobis Columbia  Valley,  British  Co- 
lumbia. 

pettyensis  nobis Ketza  Divide,  Pelly  Moun- 
tains, Yukon. 

andersoni  nobis  1 Dease    River,    near    Great 

Bear  Lake,  Mackenzie. 

Horriaus  group: 

Ursus  apache  Merriam Whorton  Creek,  south  slope 

White  Mts.,  eastern  Ari- 
zona (a  few  miles  west  of 
Blue). 

horriaus  Baird Coppermines,    southwestern 

New  Mexico. 

henshawi  Merriam Southern     Sierra     Nevada, 

near  Havilah,  Kern  Coun- 
ty, California. 

Stikeenensis  group : 

Ursus  stikeenensis  Merriam Tatletuey  Lake,  tributary  to 

Finlay  River,  near  head 
Skeena  River,  British  Co- 

lumbia. 

1 "  Reference  to  group  provisional." 
266 


crassodon  nobis Klappan  Creek  (  =  Third 

South  Fork  Stikine  Riv- 
er), British  Columbia. 

crassus  nobis  * Upper  Macmillan  River,  Yu- 
kon. 

mirabilis  Merriam  l Admiralty  Island,  Alaska. 

absarokus  Merriam  x Little  Bighorn  River,  north- 
ern Bighorn  Mountains, 
Montana. 

Alascensis  group: 

Ursus  alascensis  Merriam Unalaklik  River,  Alaska. 

toklat  Merriam Head  of  Toklat  River,  north 

base  Alaska  Range,  near 
Mount  McKinley,  Alaska 

latifrons  Merriam Jasper  House,  Alberta. 

Richardsoni  group: 

Ursus  richardsoni  Swainson Shore  of  Arctic  Ocean,  west 

side  Bathurst  Inlet,  near 
mouth  of  Hood  River. 

russelli  Merriam  * West  side  Mackenzie  River 

delta,  Canada. 

phaonyx  Merriam l Glacier  Mountain,  Tanana 

Mts.,  Alaska  (about  2 
miles  below  source  of  Com- 
et Creek,  near  Forty-mile 
Creek,  between  Yukon  and 
Tanana  Rivers). 

internationalis  Merriam Alaska- Yukon  boundary, 

about  50  miles  south  of 
Arctic  coast. 

ophrus  Merriam Eastern  British  Columbia 

(exact  locality  unknown). 

washake  Merriam North  Fork  Shoshone  River, 

Absaroka  Mts.,  western 
Wyoming. 

1  ".Reference  to  group  provisional." 
267 


Kidderi  group: 

Ursus  kidderi  kidderi  Mema.m..Chinitna  Bay,  Cook   Inlet, 

Alaska. 

kidderi  tundrensis  Merriam. .  .Shaktolik     River,     Norton 
Sound,  Alaska. 

eximius  Merriam Head  of  Knik  Arm,  Cook 

Inlet,  Alaska. 

Innuitus  group: 

Ursus  innuitus  Merriam Golofnin    Bay,    south    side 

Seward  Peninsula,  north- 
western Alaska. 

cressonus  Merriam Lakina   River,   south   slope 

Wrangell  Range,  Alaska. 

olexandra  Merriam  * Kusilof  Lake,  Kenai  Penin- 
sula, Alaska. 

Townsendi  group: 

Ursus  townsendi  Merriam. Mainland    of    Southeastern 

Alaska  (exact  locality  un- 
certain). 

Dalli  group: 

Ursus  datti  Merriam Yakutat     Bay     (northwest 

side),  Alaska. 

hoots  Merriam Clearwater  Creek,   a  north 

branch  of  Stikine  River, 
British  Columbia. 

sitkensis  Merriam Sitka  Islands,  Alaska. 

shirasi  Merriam Pybus  Bay,  Admiralty  Isl- 
and, Alaska. 

nuchek  Merriam  * Head  of  Nuchek  Bay,  Hin- 

chinbrook    Island,  Prince 
William  Sound,  Alaska. 

Gyas  group: 

Ursus  gyas  Merriam Pavlof  Bay,  Alaska  Penin- 
sula. 
middendorffi  Merriam Kodiak  Island,  Alaska. 

1  "  Reference  to  group  provisional." 
268 


anb  Cfasstf  tcafton 


Kenaiensis  group: 

Ursus  kenaiensis  Merriam  .....  Cape     Elizabeth,     extreme 

west  end  Kenai  Peninsula, 
Alaska. 
sheldoni  Merriam  ...........  Montague     Island,     Prince 

William  Sound,  Alaska. 

Vetularctos  genus  nobis  (pp.  131-133,  'North  Ameri- 
can Fauna,  No.  41  ')  : 

Vetularctos  inopinatus  nobis  ----  Rendezvous  Lake,  northeast 
of  Fort  Anderson,  Mac- 
kenzie. 


6*153^ 


THE  grizzly  bear  is  vanishing  so  rapidly  that 
without  protection  he  is  likely  to  become  ex- 
tinct. If  there  is  good  reason  —  and  there  is  —  for 
the  protection  of  deer,  elk,  and  the  bighorn,  there 
is  every  good  reason  why  we  should  protect  the 
grizzly.  He  is  a  destroyer  of  pests,  he  helps  sustain 
a  hunting-industry,  he  encourages  many  individ- 
uals to  take  mental  relaxation  and  healthful  exer- 
cise in  the  outdoors,  he  carries  more  popular  and 
sustained  interest  than  any  other  animal,  and,  in 
most  respects,  he  is  the  greatest  wild  animal  in  the 
world.  It  will  benefit  the  human  race  to  perpetu- 
ate the  grizzly,  and  to  do  this  will  require  a  few 
years  of  legal  protection. 

A  close  season  for  a  period  of  years  is  needed.  If 
there  is  an  open  season  this  should  be  restricted  to 
two  or  three  States,  and  it  should  be  short.  The 
number  taken  should  be  limited  to  one  per  person, 
unless  a  mother  grizzly  with  cubs  be  killed,  in 
273 


which  case  the  cubs  also  may  be  captured.  The  use 
of  steel  trap,  deadfall,  poison,  spring  gun,  and  dogs 
should  be  prohibited  and  the  sale  of  hides  forbidden. 

Most  big  game  has  had  some  protection  for 
years;  the  grizzly  has  had  none.  He  is  not  a  bad 
fellow,  there  is  no  just  claim  against  him,  but  he 
has  paid  the  penalty  of  being  misunderstood.  He 
has  been  classed  as  a  menace  and  relentlessly  pur- 
sued as  though  a  dangerous  criminal.  Men  follow 
him  the  year  round,  with  guns,  dogs,  horses,  traps, 
and  poison.  He  is  even  trailed  to  the  hibernating- 
den  and  slaughtered  without  any  chance  for  his  life. 

Fear  of  bears  and  prejudice  against  them  is 
all  too  often  taught  and  developed  in  childhood. 
Mothers  and  nurses  hush  children  by  telling  them, 
"Bears  will  get  you  if  you're  not  good."  People, 
however,  are  now  learning  that  bears  are  not  fero- 
cious, that  they  do  not  eat  human  flesh,  and  that  in 
the  wilds  the  grizzly  flees  from  man  as  though  from 
a  pestilence. 

Mr.  Pocock,  in  "A  Man  in  the  Open,"  with 
quaint,  satirical  philosophy  goes  to  the  bottom  of 
the  grizzly  question.  He  says :  — 

"The  coarse  treatment  grizzlies  gets  from  hunt- 
ers makes  them  sort  of  bashful  with  any  stranger. 
274 


Ye  see,  b'ars  yearns  to  man,  same  as  the  heathen 
does  to  their  fool  gods,  whereas  bullets,  pizen,  and 
deadfalls  is  sort  of  discouraging.  Their  sentiments 
gets  mixed,  they  acts  confused  and  naturally  if 
they  're  shot  at  they  '11  get  hostile,  same  as  you  and 
me.  They  is  misunderstood  and  that's  how  no- 
body has  a  kind  word  for  grizzlies." 

Grizzlies  are  walking  mouse-traps.  They  are,  like 
birds,  destroyers  of  pests,  and  give  us  services  of 
economic  value.  They  are  useful  for  what  they  eat; 
their  food  is  made  up  in  part  of  mice,  rats,  rabbits, 
ants,  grasshoppers,  and  stray  carcasses,  and  the  re- 
mainder may  be  considered  of  little  or  no  value  to 
man. 

A  grizzly  came  down  into  a  rancher's  meadow  in 
southern  Colorado  and  "rooted  it  up  like  a  hog." 
The  owner  was  up  in  arms  and  one  morning  killed 
the  invader.  Curious  as  to  what  the  grizzly  could 
have  been  eating,  he  sent  for  a  local  butcher.  His 
"insides"  showed,  among  other  things,  the  re- 
mains of  thirty-four  mice,  one  rat,  and  one  rabbit. 

Rarely  does  a  grizzly  kill  cattle.  This  killing, 

when  done,  is  by  one  grizzly.  Perhaps  ninety-nine 

out  of  every  hundred  grizzlies  never  kill  any  stock 

or  big  game.  Then,  too,  when  a  grizzly  kills  cattle 

275 


he  usually  makes  a  business  of  it,  and  if  one  should 
get  the  habit  he  could  be  specially  disposed  of. 
Protection  to  the  grizzly  would  not  be  at  the  ex- 
pense of  live  stock  or  big  game. 

During  rambles  in  the  mountains  through  the 
years  I  have  investigated  more  than  fourteen  cases 
in  which  the  grizzly  was  charged  with  killing  cattle. 
In  a  number  of  instances  there  was  not  a  trace  of  a 
grizzly  near  the  carcass.  There  were  traces  of  other 
animals,  but  the  guilty  one  could  not  be  deter- 
mined. There  were  eleven  carcasses  that  had  been 
visited  by  grizzlies;  six  of  these  animals  had  been 
killed  by  lions,  one  by  poisonous  plants,  one  by 
wolves,  two  by  stones  that  rolled  from  a  land-slip. 
In  the  eleventh  case  neither  the  carcass  nor  its 
surroundings  gave  any  conclusive  evidence  for  de- 
termining the  cause  of  the  cow's  death.  The  car- 
cass had  been  fed  upon  by  coyotes,  wolves,  lions, 
and  both  black  and  grizzly  bears.  But  what  killed 
the  cow?  It  might  have  been  lightning  or  disease,  a 
wolf  or  a  lion,  or  possibly  a  hunter.  Many  hunters 
are  not  up  on  natural  history  and  shoot  at  the  first 
object  that  moves.  The  only  evidence  against  the 
grizzly  was  entirely  circumstantial;  he  had  eaten  a 
part  of  the  carcass. 

276 


The  killing  of  wild  life  is  not  in  my  line.  I  am  not 
a  hunter.  But  in  the  hunting-industry  the  grizzly 
heads  the  list.  The  hunter  will  pay  more  for  a  shot 
at  a  grizzly  than  for  a  shot  at  any  other,  and 
often  all  other,  big  game.  Hunters  frequently  spend 
from  one  thousand  to  many  thousands  of  dol- 
lars in  going  after  the  grizzly.  They  will  work 
harder  and  longer  for  a  grizzly  than  for  any  other 
animal. 

But  the  grizzly-hunting  industry  is  coming  to 
an  end  through  decreasing  numbers  of  grizzlies.  A 
short  time  ago  the  "Saturday  Evening  Post"  said: 
"  The  betting  is  a  thousand  to  one  that  you  will 
never  kill  a  grizzly  inside  the  United  States.  There 
are  a  few  left  but  not  many;  and  all  are  highly 
trained  in  suspiciousness  and  resourcefulness." 

If  the  hunting  of  grizzlies  is  to  continue,  the 
grizzly  must  promptly  have  some  protection.  Mr. 
J.  A.  McGuire,  editor  of  "Outdoor  Life,"  has  been 
working  for  years  to  bring  about  legal  protection 
and  intelligent  understanding  of  bears.  At  last  it 
looks  as  though  he  would  succeed.  But  much  work 
is  yet  to  be  done  before  all  States  give  bears  proper 
protection,  before  bear  natural  histories  are  re- 
written and  bears  are  appreciated  at  their  real, 

277 


their  high,  worth.  Writing  as  a  hunter-naturalist, 
Mr.  McGuire  says:  — 

"When  the  grizzly  bear  shall  have  passed  — 
and  he  is  found  in  such  lamentably  small  numbers 
now  that  his  exit  from  our  midst  is  but  a  question 
of  years  —  there  shall  have  disappeared  from  our 
mountains  one  of  the  sublimest  specimens  of  ani- 
mal life  that  exalts  the  western  wilderness.  As  a 
sporting  trophy,  his  hide  stands  at  the  top  of  the 
list  of  American  wild  animals  —  one  which  sports- 
men from  all  over  the  world  have  come  here  to  se- 
cure. Nowhere  else  in  the  world  can  the  grizzly 
bear  be  found  except  in  western  North  America, 
and  we  as  sportsmen  naturalists  should  see  to  it 
that  his  demise  is  not  hastened  and  that  his  life 
shall  be  preserved  to  posterity." 

Shooting  is  not  all  there  is  to  hunting.  Hunters 
while  hunting  often  take  on  a  new  lease  of  effi- 
ciency, even  though  they  do  not  get  the  grizzly. 
Often,  too,  they  make  the  intimate  acquaintance  of 
another  hunter,  or  of  a  guide,  and  return  with  en- 
larged views  into  human  nature;  or  they  develop 
a  new  and  worth-while  outdoor  interest.  So  that, 
considered  solely  for  hunting  purposes,  the  grizzly 
has  both  a  commercial  and  a  higher  value. 
278 


Any  one  who  sees  a  grizzly  bear  in  his  rugged 
mountain  home  or  even  in  a  National  Park,  which 
is  a  wilderness-land,  will  receive  a  lasting  impres- 
sion. It  is  the  character  of  this  animal  that  stands 
out.  He  is  of  heroic  size  and  powerfully  built,  but 
he  is  at  all  times  so  dignified,  and  so  wide-awake, 
that  his  individuality  never  fails  to  impress  you. 
The  splendid  animal  and  the  scene  wherein  he 
stood  will  often  be  recalled.  Again  and  again  you 
will  wonder  concerning  him  and  his  life,  his  neigh- 
bors, and  his  territory.  The  interest  which  you  have 
received  may  lead  you  to  revisit  the  wild,  revivify- 
ing mountain-land  in  which  he  lives. 

When  the  hunter  ceased  firing  in  the  Yellow- 
stone National  Park,  the  grizzly  bear  was  the  first 
of  the  big  wild  animals  to  discover  that  it  was  safe 
to  .show  himself.  The  wildest  animal,  extremely 
shy  of  being  seen  even  at  long  range,  he  showed  his 
superior  intelligence,  his  strong  character,  in  being 
the  first  to  realize  that  times  had  changed  and  that 
man  had  ceased  trying  to  kill  the  wild  folks  on 
sight.  It  took  the  other  big  animals  a  long  time  to 
learn  that  they  were  protected.  Many  of  them  re- 
lied on  old  experiences,  and  for  years,  on  the  ap- 
proach of  man,  they  ran  for  their  lives. 
279 


National  Parks  are  developing  a  friendly  inter- 
est in  grizzlies,  and  there  is  a  growing  appreciation 
of  the  grizzly's  true  worth.  But  just  at  present  this 
appreciation  and  this  sentiment  are  not  strong 
enough  to  protect  the  grizzly  without  the  formal  as- 
sistance of  a  grizzly-protection  law. 

During  the  past  twenty-five  years  the  grizzly 
population  has  enormously  decreased.  The  grizzly 
is  in  danger  of  extermination.  In  California,  where 
he  was  once  numerous,  he  is  now  extinct.  He  has 
also  gone  from  extensive  areas  in  all  the  other 
Western  States.  In  the  areas  where  he  still  exists 
the  population  is  in  most  places  sparse. 

It  is  doubtful  if  he  is  holding  his  own  anywhere 
within  the  bounds  of  the  United  States,  unless  it  be 
in  Glacier  National  Park.  The  grizzly  population 
of  the  Yellowstone  National  Park  is  variously  esti- 
mated from  fifty  to  one  hundred.  But  each  year 
numbers  of  cubs  born  inside  the  Park  are  trapped 
just  outside  of  it,  and  old  bears  whose  home  is  in- 
side the  Park  are  occasionally  shot  outside  the 
boundary-line.  It  may  be  that  the  bears  coming  in 
from  outside,  a  few  of  whom  each  year  appear  to 
move  into  the  Park  to  live,  may  maintain  the  nor- 
mal or  possibly  slightly  increase  the  population; 
280 


Be 

but  this  is  doubtful.  There  are  a  few  grizzlies  in 
the  Rocky  Mountain  National  Park,  perhaps  a  few 
in  the  Mount  Rainier  Park,  and  a  number  in  four 
or  five  of  the  Canadian  National  Parks.  Alaska  is 
the  grizzly  country  at  present ;  but  dozens  of  hunt- 
ers are  each  year  putting  a  check  on  its  increase  in 
grizzly  population,  except  in  the  Mount  McKinley 
National  Park. 

The  grizzly  needs  protection  at  once,  needs  your 
active  interest  now.  He  is  making  his  last  stand 
and  is  surrounded  by  relentless  foes.  Protection 
only  will  save  him  and  enable  him  to  perpetuate 
himself.  Without  the  grizzly  the  wilds  would  be 
dull,  the  canon  and  the  crag  would  lose  their  elo- 
quent appeal.  This  wild  uncrowned  king  has  won 
his  place  in  nature  which  no  other  animal  can  fill. 
We  need  the  grizzly  bear  —  the  King  of  the  Wil- 
derness World. 

With  a  closed  season  everywhere  in  the  United 
States  for  a  few  years,  the  bears  would  increase  in 
numbers  and  in  due  time  areas  now  depopulated 
would  be  again  peopled  by  them.  Among  the  griz- 
zlies there  are  always  adventurers  who  wander  far 
away  looking  for  new  scenes.  These  exploring  griz- 
zlies, as  numbers  increased,  might  redistribute 
281 


themselves.  Grizzlies  in  western  Oregon  might 
wander  southward  and  even  restock  the  four  Na- 
tional Parks  of  California,  where  there  is  now  not  a 
grizzly.  But  this  would  require  a  cessation  of  the 
shooting  of  grizzlies  for  a  number  of  years. 

The  population  might  be  more  quickly  affected 
by  restocking.  A  few  grizzlies  could  be  trapped  in 
Yellowstone  and  set  free  in  these  other  National 
Parks.  The  problem  of  restocking  unoccupied 
areas  would  not  be  difficult  if  there  could  be  for  a 
few  years  a  general  closed  season.  In  restocking 
these  areas  the  zoos  could  not  help.  So  far  grizzlies 
have  not  been  successfully  bred  in  confinement. 

The  grizzly  is  an  educational  factor  of  enormous 
potential  value.  An  acquaintance  with  him  will 
give  a  lively  interest  in  the  whole  world  of  nature, 
in  both  natural  history  and  the  natural  resources 
of  the  earth.  A  knowledge  of  these  will  increase  the 
enjoyment  and  the  usefulness  of  every  one. 

In  learning  natural  history  the  grizzly  might 
well  be  the  first  life  studied.  Interest  in  him  could  be 
used  to  arouse  interest  in  all  life.  In  the  very  be- 
ginnings of  interest  in  any  living  thing  there  is  a 
desire  for  information  concerning  its  food.  Soil, 
directly  or  indirectly,  produces  the  entire  food- 
282 


supply  of  the  earth.  Thus  the  trail  of  the  grizzly 
bear  would  lead  one  to  the  wonderful  story  of  soil- 
creation  and  the  strange,  almost  enchanting  powers 
it  has  over  our  strange  existence. 

For  the  young,  and  perhaps  for  the  older,  the 
grizzly  has  qualities  which  should  make  him  the  su- 
preme mental  stimulus  of  the  great  outdoors.  A 
better  acquaintance  with  him  will  be  beneficial  of 
itself,  and  an  interest  in  him  would  inevitably  ex- 
tend to  his  wild  neighbors  and  to  the  whole  wide 
world  of  beauty  and  grandeur  wherein  he  lives  his 
adventurous  life. 

The  eagle,  our  emblematic  bird,  has  prowess;  he 
soars,  he  dares  the  storm,  and  he  explores  the  cloud 
scenery  of  the  sky.  He  makes  an  appeal  to  the  in- 
terest of  a  few,  but  the  bear  stirs  the  minds  and  the 
hearts  of  many.  In  most  respects  the  grizzly  would 
rival  the  eagle  for  an  emblematic  animal  and  would 
excel  all  animals  in  arousing  a  nature  interest 
around  the  world. 

Perpetuate  the  grizzly  in  our  wild  places  and 
National  Parks,  and  this  will  fill  all  wild  scenes 
again  with  their  appealing  primeval  spell  —  the 
master  touch  which  stirs  the  imagination.  An  edu- 
cator has  called  the  imagination  "the  supreme  in- 
283 


tellectual  faculty";  it  is  creative,  original,  refresh- 
ing. The  imagination  will  be  alive  so  long  as  the 
grizzly  lives. 

In  art  alone  the  grizzly  is  a  subject  worthy  of  the 
sculptor.  He  will  help  quicken  and  develop  the 
creative  imagination  of  any  one  who  knows  him  — 
the  grizzly  of  heroic  art. 

The  grizzly  probably  heads  the  animal  list  in 
brain-power.  He  is  still  developing.  He  appreciates 
play  and  he  has  marked  individuality.  He  is  the 
greatest  animal  that  is  without  a  voice.  Stories  of 
"this  animal  that  walks  like  man"  ever  appeal;  he 
is  the  most  impressive  animal  on  the  continent.  He 
is  the  dominant  and  the  most  distinguished  animal 
of  the  world. 


THE  END 


Abundance,  231. 

Accordion,  177, 178. 

Acrobatic  pranks,  13. 

Adams,  James  Capen,  166,  170,  196, 
207,  251;  quoted,  196,  220,  242;  and 
his  pet  grizzlies,  216-21,  242. 

Adventure,  185. 

Age,  58,  59. 

Agility,  253. 

Alaska,  53,  54,  205,  206,  248-50,  259- 
61,  281. 

Ants,  107. 

Arizona,  150,  151. 

Audubon,  John  James,  quoted,  198. 

Bear,  black,  and  hard-tack,  7;  and 
grizzly  cubs,  114, 115,  212,  222,  223; 
colors,  251 ;  contrasted  with  the  griz- 
zly, 254,  255. 

Bear,  polar,  94,  249. 

Bears,  origin  and  evolution,  247,  248. 

Bears,  big  brown,  257-69. 

Beaver,  29. 

"Ben  Franklin,"  216-21. 

Brackenridge,  Henry  M.,  256;  quoted, 
199. 

Cactus,  150,  151. 

Can,  tin,  6. 

Carson,  Kit,  196. 

Catsup,  213. 

Cattle-killing,  13,  14,  73,  75,  ?6,  I55~ 

58,  275,  276. 
Caution,  72,  157-62. 
Chapman,  Frank  M.,  170. 
Classification,  249,  256-69. 
Claw-marks  on  trees,  47-49,  131. 
Claws,  253,  254. 

Clinton,  DeWitt,  256;  quoted,  202, 203. 
"Clubfoot,"  14. 


Coasting,  126,  127, 144, 145. 

Colors,  249-51. 

Courage,  17, 18, 191. 

Cow,  dead,  7-9. 

Coyote,  146. 

Cubs,  and  dead  mother,  23-25;  birth 
and  nurture,  25,  26;  size,  25,  26; 
color,  27;  care  and  training  from 
mother,  27-29;  experiences  with, 
29-37;  weaning,  31,  32;  mimicry, 
32;  play,  35,  36;  eating  honey,  37; 
family  ties,  37, 38;  selection  of  home 
territory,  43.  See  also  Pets. 

Curiosity,  54,  55,  175-8?- 

Death,  59,  60. 

Dens.  See  Hibernation. 

Digging,  3,  4,  7L  125,  "6,  131,  132. 

Dignity,  233. 

Disposition,  236-38. 

Distribution,  248-50. 

Dogs,  109-11,  163,  217-19. 

Drummond,  Thomas,  175,  176, 196. 

Economic  value,  275-78. 

Eluding  followers,  4,  5,  243.  See  also 

Trailing. 
Exploration,  56,  57. 

Feet,  253,  254. 

Feigning  death,  14. 

Ferocity,  undeserved  reputation  for, 

192-206. 

Figgins,  J.  D.,  on  hibernation,  94-98. 
Fighting  qualities,  204,  205. 
Fire,  179,  180. 
Fish,  catching,  69,  70,  234. 
Food  and  feeding-habits,  63-77, 82, 92, 

93,  105-07,  206,  230,  231,  236-39, 

275,  276. 


287 


Form,  251,  252. 
Fur,  251. 

Gait,  15,  252. 
Garbage,  206,  236-39. 
Glacier  National  Park,  237. 
Grace,  252. 

Hallett  Glacier,  8l. 
Hammock,  179. 
Hard-tack,  7. 
Headache,  235. 
Hearing,  6,  229,  230. 
Hibernation,  52,  81-98,  215,  216. 
Home  territory,  38,  39,  43-53- 
Hornaday,  William  T.,  quoted,  197. 
Hunting,  161-70,  277,  278. 

Indians,  203,  255- 
Intelligence,  3-19,  243,  244- 

Jenny.  See  Johnny. 
Johnny  and  Jenny,  101-15. 

"Lady  Washington,"  242. 

Lewis  and  Clark,  53,  176,  192,  197, 

256;  quoted,  199-202. 
Lion,  mountain,  52. 
Log,  139-43. 

McClelland,  George,  165. 
McGuire,  J.  A.,  277;  quoted,  278. 
MacKenzie,     Sir     Alexander,     256; 

quoted,  198. 
Magpie,  141. 
Maimed,  17. 
Man,  as  an  enemy,  17,  18;  not  eaten 

by  the  grizzly,  76,  77;  attacked,  162 

-70. 

Mating,  255. 
Merriam,  Dr.  C.  Hart,  quoted,  257- 

09. 

Migration,  57. 
"Miss  Grizzly,"  211-16. 
"Miss  Jim"  and  "Mr.  Bessie,"  221- 

26. 


"Mose,  Old,"  155, 156. 

Mud,  143, 144- 

Muir,  John,  170,  194;  quoted,  194, 

195- 
Music,  177, 178. 

Names,  256. 

National  Parks,  280-82. 

Nutcracker,  Clarke,  141. 

Ord,  George,  256. 
Outdoor  Life,  277. 

Pets,  101-15,  211-26,  240-42. 

Pies,  225. 

Play,  54,  139-52. 

Pocock,  Roger,  quoted,  274,  275. 

Protection,  273,  274,  280-83. 

Raspberries,  105-07. 

Rifles,  203. 

Rocking-chair,  na. 

Rollins,    Philip    Ashton,    207,    221 : 

quoted,  222-26. 
Roosevelt,  Theodore,  170. 
Roping,  167. 

Sagacity,  3-19,  243,  244- 

"Samson,"  251. 

Saturday  Evening  Post,  quoted,  277. 

Sawmill,  211,  212. 

Scenery,  186, 187. 

Scotch,  the  collie,  109-11. 

Scott,  William  B.,  quoted,  247. 

Senses,  5,  6,  229,  230. 

Sensitiveness,  229,  230. 

Seton,  Ernest  Thompson,  170. 

Shadow,  147-49- 

Sheep,  mountain,  35,  72,  73. 

Sheldon,  Charles,  quoted,  248,  249. 

Size,  251,  252. 

Skin  of  soles  of  feet,  91. 

Slicker,  180, 181. 

Smell,  sense  of,  6,  230. 

Social  life,  45,  46,  53- 

Solitariness,  44,  149. 


288 


Strength,  252,  253. 
Swimming,  50,  51. 

"Three-Toes,"  14. 

"Timberline,"  46,  47,  "9-35- 

Tooth-marks  on  trees,  47-49, 13*« 

Toothache,  235. 

Tracks,  253,  254. 

Trailing,  9-13,  49,  5°,  $6,  57,  "9~36, 

146-49, 169,  170. 
Trapping,  157-6°,  162. 


Umbrellas,  109, 182. 

Umfreville,  Edward,  quoted,  198,  256. 

Voice,  255. 

Wheel,  182. 
Wolves,  16,  17. 

Wright,  William  H.,  164,  170,  195, 
207;  quoted,  195, 196,  226, 238,  239. 

Yellowstone  Park,  58, 206, 232-39, 280. 


(Kte  Ritoerfibe 

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U   .   S   .  A 


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